Ryan Silverfield Has One Advantage Over Auburn's Alex Golesh That Could Help Arkansas

Tigers might have a tad bit more talent, Razorbacks could have a slight coaching edge

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield (left) talks to his quarterback KJ Jackson (right) during first half against Tulsa. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE — Never say never in college football.

That old saying still applies even though things have changed so much in the past decade. From NIL, unlimited transfer portal opportunities, coaching salaries and conference realignment — while it all looks different, upsets still happen.

Now, Arkansas marching into Jordan-Hare Stadium on The Plains of Auburn wouldn't be a total shocker at all given the results of the previous two weeks. The Tigers have lost to LSU (38-17) and Ole Miss (45-15) after stealing one on the road against then No. 1 Georgia (27-24).

Arkansas nearly knocked off Tennessee at home, but fell victim to old habits before falling 24-17. Then, the breakthrough at Vanderbilt occurred just seven days later with a 31-21 win in Nashville.

That victory didn't work any miracles on Arkansas' end either because they returned home last week only to be lambasted by Missouri in the second half. So much for an improbable midseason turnaround.

Now, two first-year coaches in Ryan Silverfield and Alex Golesh are looking to end their respective schneids and get back in the win column Saturday.

The Tigers are a tad bit more talented than the Razorbacks are with four 5-stars, 33 4-stars and 37 3-stars on the roster, according to Razorbacks On SI offseason tracker.

Arkansas has just one former 5-star, 28 4-stars and 44 3-stars on the roster this season but Silverfield does hold at least one favorable statistic between the two coaches. He is 3-0 over the previous three seasons against Golesh (USF) during his time at Memphis.

Now, Memphis did have one of the best NIL budgets of any Group of Five team, and USF was on the way back up under Golesh. Whether it was a talent, resources or a coaching advantage, Silverfield has Golesh's number and that ought to count for something.

Of course, none of those three previous three meetings matters because beating him in an SEC environment is going to be much tougher to do. Both coaches have different rosters and expectations, and the level of competition has increased considerably in the SEC.

But there's something to be said for familiarity, especially when neither team has much momentum heading into the weekend. Just when it seemed Arkansas was ready to turn the corner and be competitive against Missouri, everything unraveled in the second half, which led to a disappointing 34-10 loss.

On paper, Auburn has more talent than Arkansas does, but the Tigers' defense has given up 83 points over the past two games. That ought to give the Razorbacks some hope that its offense can find a little rhythm throughout a game.

Silverfield desperately needs to put the Missouri result behind him and show progress instead of taking a couple of steps backward.

They just need to beat somebody.

And considering Silverfield's history against Golesh, there might not be a better opportunity waiting for Arkansas than Saturday afternoon at Auburn.

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