Path to Beating Georgia Narrow, Razorbacks Must At Least Put Up a Fight

Even if a win isn't in the cards, trends show spirited battle is least Silverfield can do in SEC opener

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Cam Settles (27) tries to get around defensive back LaMarcus Hicks II (27) during the spring game at Razorback Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — They remember what you do in November, as Frank Broyles liked to say.

But boy, oh boy, does it matter what you do in September in college football.

It's imperative that Arkansas puts up a fight on Sept. 19 when a Georgia team likely ranked inside the top five in the AP poll comes to town, and not just so a sellout crowd at CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium gets their money's worth or so that ABC can pull in big ratings for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff.

Kirby Smart speaks to the crowd during the Kirby Smart Family Foundation's Giving Day at the UGA Football Indoor Practice Facility in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. The Kirby Smart Family Foundation supports over 70 organizations in Georgia and neighboring states that help children and families who are facing adversity such as disability and childhood cancer. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It's because Arkansas is far too used to getting kicked around on its home turf in recent years, and even if it can't beat the Bulldogs, keeping the game close is a far better alternative to letting go of the rope.

As frustrating as Arkansas' 2025 losses to Ole Miss and Memphis were, they were at least close games. The team fought to the bitter end.

In the Razorbacks' 56-13 loss to Notre Dame, the bitter end may as well have been halftime, when the score was 42-13 and roughly half of the 10th-largest crowd in program history traded their seats for a stroll down to Dickson Street.

Arkansas went on to lose its final seven games, capping a third 2-10 season in the last eight years. It's hard to believe that at least one of those seven losses doesn't flip if Arkansas at least plays competitively against the Irish and doesn't see its morale sink all the way to the bottom of the Arkansas River.

There is no such thing as a good loss in sports. In the words of Vince Lombardi, winning "isn't everything, it's the only thing."

But some losses feel better than others. Arkansas' uncompetiive, unspirited loss to Notre Dame was like taking a gut punch from prime Joe Louis and expecting the individual who received it to bounce back up.

The Razorbacks have suffered tough losses in September before and bounced back. The difference? Those were games where a win was in the question.

In 2015, the last time Arkansas had a winning record in SEC play, the Hogs dropped a 28-21 overtime heartbreaker to Texas A&M, dropping Bret Bielema's third UA squad to 1-3 on the season.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema looks on during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Razorbacks went on to beat Tennessee in Knoxville the next week and win six of its last eight games, not including a 51-50 loss to Mississippi State in Fayetteville that would've given Arkansas six conference wins for the first time since 2011.

Similar to 2025, there have been other years where the Razorbacks were pummeled in early-season matchups and let go of the rope. In 2018, North Texas and Auburn beat Arkansas by a combined 58 points in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively in what turned into a 2-10 season.

In 2008, Alabama and Texas whipped the Hogs 49-14 and 52-10, respectively, to close September in what turned into a 5-7 season salvaged only by the sequel to the Miracle on Markham in November.

Of course, the trend doesn't always line up perfectly. Arkansas started 2023 3-0 and dropped a crushing 23-21 loss to Texas A&M in September of 2023 in a season that went sideways and ended at 7-6. But coming off of a 2-10 season, 7-6 may as well seem like a national championship to Razorback fans.

Former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield claps during a Memphis Tigers football spring game between the blue and gray team on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at Simmons Liberty Bank Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Regardless of how Arkansas loses to Georgia, if it indeed does, the final nine games of Ryan Silverfield's first year in Fayetteville will be undoubtedly tough.

But they would be made a whole lot easier, especially inside the locker room, if his squad puts up a wholehearted fight in front of a home crowd that deserves to see competitive football played against a top-tier opponent.