Arkansas-Tulsa Has No Business Being This Important for Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There shouldn't be this much riding on a September non-conference game against Tulsa inside Razorback Stadium, but that's where Arkansas football finds itself in Year 1 under coach Ryan Silverfield.

The Razorbacks are 1-2 overall, and have lost their last 12 games against Power Conference opponents. They're searching for anything that resembles momentum as an eight-game SEC slate begins next weekend.

Tulsa should never be the kind of program Arkansas measures itself against, but Saturday night brings about an opportunity to start proving that remains true. That comes by not only securing a victory but looking like an SEC team doing so.

Here are the three major storylines I'm watching as Arkansas prepares for its first primetime kickoff of the 2026 season.

Arkansas Razorbacks vice chancellor of athletics Hunter Yurachek reacts to a first half penalty against Georgia Bulldogs. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

What Happens If Arkansas Loses?

It brings to question whether or not wholesale changes in the athletic department happen if the Razorbacks actually fall victim to Tulsa this weekend.

Because if something isn't actually done soon, when does losing at this rate become unacceptable? Arkansas football has been allowed to fall into a negligent state since NIL was introduced in July of 2021.

Instead of getting ahead of the rapidly changing landscape, Arkansas was slow to adapt as NIL, the transfer portal and eventually revenue sharing transformed how successful programs construct rosters.

Yurachek can't be blamed for every problem surrounding Arkansas football, but he also can't be separated from the decisions that helped put the program in its current position.

Look no further than neighboring states such as Missouri and Tennessee, once fielding teams that had fallen on hard times that have now bounced back because they took advantage of an opportunity.

Indiana.
Ole Miss.
Miami.
SMU.
Vanderbilt.
Texas Tech.
BYU.
Missouri.
Louisville.

Every single one of those programs took matters into their own hands and changed their on-field destiny.

For one, it was winning a national championship after being college football's losing-est program ever. The runner-up fell flat in the 2000s and weren't able to recover until now.

Ole Miss, Missouri, and Vanderbilt have all spent their fair share in the basement of not only the SEC, but all of college football. Texas Tech and SMU took all that oil and law money and have put it to good use to forge themselves a path into College Football Playoff contention on an annual basis.

Arkansas on the other hand is simply sailing off into the sunset, dreaming about what used to be and becoming numb to the pain of irrelevancy.

Darkness, our new friend.

Tulsa running back Damari Alston (6) runs the ball during the first half of a college football game between Oklahoma State (OSU) and Tulsa at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Stopping Tulsa's Power Run Game

There is a ball game on Saturday to talk about and the Golden Hurricane present a run game that ranks No. 32 nationally at 220 yards per game. Coach Tre Lamb's ground game not only attacks the gaps, but also attacks the edges well for big gains.

On tape, Tulsa doesn't have the same type of speed Utah and Georgia each presented, but Damari Alston and Trequan Jones each have enough quickness in space to make defenders miss in space before scampering into the end zone.

Arkansas has the athletes to slow down a quality rushing attack, and East Texas A&M (FCS) flashed the ability to disrupt the flow early on, but it wasn't sustained. Arkansas enters the game ranked among the bottom teams nationally at stopping the run in an efficient manner.

Best Run Defense teams through Week 3 (P4)

Iowa, duhhttps://t.co/m2NjwlTXVx pic.twitter.com/SSoCO1TaGm
— Game on Paper (@gameonpaper) September 22, 2026

A week after giving up 254 yards on six yards per carry against Georgia, there is a response required from the Razorbacks' defense to shutdown Tulsa's one chance at pulling off an upset on Saturday.

No Participation Trophies

It's going to be the first Saturday under 100-degrees in Arkansas since June 6 and Razorback fans are probably going to show up for the first true night game of the regular season at Razorback Stadium. Whether that is to see the new light show or hopefully watch their favorite team march its way to victory on Saturday, anything short of a dominant victory cannot be celebrated.

That's because an SEC team, even a bad one such as Arkansas, should dominate smaller Group of Six programs like Tulsa on a regular basis. Even the Razorbacks' worst teams over the previous 50 years have taken care of business against the Golden Hurricane.

With the opposing team's starting quarterback out with an injury, there's no reason Arkansas should just stumble to victory. It's time to flex their muscle and look the part of an SEC program again instead of one that barely squeaks by for a 15 second clip on SEC Football Final.

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