Razorbacks' Ugly Win Shows Ryan Silverfield Already Understands His Assignment

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The debut of Ryan Silverfield as Arkansas' head coach certainly didn't go quite how he hoped.

While there's plenty of things his team will need to work on throughout the week to prepare for a tough Utah program, there were still some positives that went into picking up the Week One victory over North Alabama.

Part of that is never taking winning a game for granted. You never know when the last one is going to come either, so cherish them when they happen even if it wasn't pretty.

"Well, winning football games is — I was just in the locker room [talking] about some of the scores — it's really hard to do in college football," Silverfield said after the Razorbacks 31-14 victory over the Lions. "It's my 28th year doing this, and I've done it at every level. You never want to sit there and take wins for granted."

Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield speaks to a sideline reporter with the SEC Network following Arkansas' 31-14 victory over North Alabama | Nilsen Roman

Most coaches don't get into the profession for the money, and Silverfield will be the first one to tell anyone that. From earning $500 a month at Hampden-Sydney College in the very early 2000s, doing everything from coaching to team laundry at Memorial Day High School in Savannah, Ga., rising up the ladder in the NFL and at Memphis, he's been a grinder.

Silverfield has been part of hundreds of wins, many a losses but the most important thing is to not lose sight of what matters most. Improving each week — as a team — is a lost thought in the world microwave society where everyone wants instant gratification.

It's easy to just turn on a staff midway through a second quarter to let the boo-birds fly to start a regime. In this day-and-age of college football, it's easier to fall behind in a hiccup than it is to embrace the way of the land.

Silverfield knew what he was inheriting when taking over the Arkansas football program, agreeing to a job where an athletics director is advocating against the best interest for his student-athletes by fighting against NIL less than 11 months ago.

Money though, it had no factor in how the game on Saturday played out.

The Razorbacks clearly had a more expensive and talented roster over coach Brent Dearmon's North Alabama team. What should've been a game that was set on cruise control in the second quarter was just a two-score game at the start of the fourth quarter all because of the same ol' same.

Pre-snap penalties, turnovers, missed assignments and a battle against what Silverfield had preached all offseason. That his team will be the best in the nation at taking care of the controllables.

He was far from satisfied with Saturday's outcome in certain aspects of the game.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield looks to the field during the season opener against North Alabama. | Nilsen Roman

However, any coach who grows complacent with the process isn't going to find ways to better himself or even his team, which is why there may be more improvement in a short amount of time when it comes time to kickoff against Utah — even if that doesn't show up in the win column.

"And I understand the situation and the seat I’m in," Silverfield said. "So to sit here and say I’m mad at a win, no. Listen, I’ll take as many 1-0 games, as ugly as they can be, throughout the rest of my career, and hopefully it’s a long one. But there’s also, as a head coach, you’ve got to be disciplined. You’ve got to find ways to get things [done]. And that’s my job.

"I’ve won games 42-nothing and come to press conferences and been disappointed. I’d rather have that than the [current]situation. But listen it had nothing to do with me. I hope we’re sitting up here talking a lot more about season-opening wins and a lot more wins along the way."

Silverfield has a chance to revitalize a program that has been idling throughout the past five years, and for the first time there seems to be a man in charge who has some answers.

He understands the urgency of what it means to win now in this college landscape. Because the longer an athletic department avoids the inevitable of today's landscape, the further it will fall behind in the financial race of college sports, especially football.

Arkansas Razorbacks athletics director Hunter Yurachek speaks on the sideline prior to the season opener against North Alabama at CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium. | Nilsen Roman

At the end of the day, Silverfield is grateful for the fan support on a day that saw record breaking 100-plus degree heat at kickoff. The school released a generous number of 69,178 Arkansas fans in attendance on Saturday in such sweltering conditions and the fact that he embraced them should keep them in the fold moving forward another week.

At the end of the day, college football is a results-based business, and the margin for error has never been smaller. And he's going to have need every bit of their support as he attempts to turn this program around after sticking with the Razorbacks through it all.

"I’m happy for the guys and I’m happy for the fans," Silverfield said. "Again, they sat out there in record-breaking heat. 103 years of football. And those fans, again, and those students showing up early, we owe it to them and we owe it to the students to continue to go out there and put a better product on the field."

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