Razorbacks Lose Control of What Silverfield Promised to Fix In Loss At Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Southern rock band Kansas once made a classic out of a wayward son searching for direction.

Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfeld could use some of that direction right now after seeing his Arkansas Razorbacks fall to Utah on the road 43-10 late Saturday night.

He wanted the challenge outside of a Memphis program where he spent a decade maturing in.

That move might add a few gray hairs, sleepless nights and endless evaluations during practice because what we saw tonight at Utah was unacceptable to his standards.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jackson (7) passes the ball as Utah Utes linebacker Johnathan Hall (7) rushes during the first quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Controllables? Not controlled.

Penalties? Endless.

Mistakes? Still hanging around.

Offensive play calling? Ridiculous.

If something doesn't work, how about trying it again and again expecting a different result.

That's exactly what Arkansas offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey was doing in the first half by putting quarterback KJ Jackson in situations that didn't suit his skills.

While the junior quarterback was far from efficient on Saturday night / Sunday morning, plays designed to roll a left-handed quarterback to his right is so irresponsible. It's a coaching malpractice.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

And instead of Jackson being defiant and doing something else on his own, he continued to roll right and exposed himself to errant throws. This game got away from the Razorbacks quickly and it's starting to look like a long season already.

Back in the day, a season at Arkansas didn't start turning sour until the temperature read in the 50s. Fast forward 15 years later, and they're trying to avoid letting offenses score triple digits in September.

Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs for a touchdown against Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Kyeaure Magloire (14) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

And don't think I'm placing all the blame on the shoulders of Silverfield either. The guy has been doing everything his own boss is suppose to be doing.

Fundraising, corralling a Front Office for NIL and revenue sharing needs, improving the gameday atmosphere at Razorback Stadium, and the laundry list of issues doesn't end there.

None of this means Silverfield is in over his head either. Two games into a coaching tenure isn't enough time to make that determination, particularly for a coach who won 29 games over his final three seasons at Memphis.

But Saturday also showed that changing the man wearing the headset doesn't immediately fix everything surrounding the program.

He'll sit in the postgame and own it himself. And will probably talk about how his team not being prepared is his fault.

But there are some effort issues through the first two weeks that'll certainly show up on film — if that's actually going to be a thing this week.

There are wide receivers loafing around on called tunnel screens where they aren't even attempting to block downfield.

The offensive line cannot generate a push even three inches off the line.

Even when there was some success off the tackles, Utah adjusted and basically made Arkansas' offense inept from the six-minute mark of the first quarter until the bitter end.

And if the offensive issues weren't enough, there's a supposedly improved defense that's playing out of position, falling in coverage and giving up explosive plays on the regular while loafing downfield.

Those effort problems are exactly the kind of "controllables" Silverfield has preached about since taking the job. These first two games certainly haven't matched the standard his programs have been built on previously.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Sutton Smith (5) runs the ball against Utah Utes linebacker Johnathan Hall (7) and safety Rabbit Evans (1) during the first quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

College football rosters, coaching and support staffs all cost way too much these days for the head coach to double as his own athletic director. Results like this, a splattering in Salt Lake City, will continue every single week unless something changes.

If North Alabama didn't sound an alarm, then Saturdays 43-10 beatdown at Utah should. Arkansas can't keep asking a football coach to compensate for structural deficiencies above and around him and then a fanbase act surprised when the product on Saturdays falls behind programs with stability around it.

Hats off to Silverfield for continuing to coach this game through the fourth quarter, challenging his starters and backup AJ Hill to keep fighting. While everyone on social media mailed it in at halftime, he was still observing every snap, gauging effort from who he had on the field and formulating a plan moving forward.

All may not be lost yet, but boy, Week Two took a nosedive fast and it's going to take time to recover.

Next week. Georgia Bulldogs. Razorback Stadium. 11 a.m. CT. National television.

Silverfield will either have his team ready to fight, or Georgia will expose Arkansas for the whole country to see this time around.

Sign up to our free newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter) for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google