Silverfield Admits One Area That 'Absolutely Crushed' Razorbacks Against Georgia

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Much like the week prior against Utah, Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield was aware of the damage a mobile quarterback can cause to his defense.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton can run, although he isn't the dynamic athlete Utah's Devon Dampier is. That didn't stop him from gashing Arkansas for 97 yards on seven carries Saturday.

When Arkansas generated pressure, Stockton routinely found running lanes wide enough to pull three Peterbilts through, something Silverfield said "absolutely crushed" his defense.

Through three games, Arkansas has allowed 16 runs of 10+ yards which could sound the alarms of panic for defensive coordinator Ron Roberts' unit.

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton tackled for a loss by Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Ja'Quavion Smith. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs On SI Images

"Absolutely crushed us, right," Silverfield said. "Even though sometimes when you did get some quarterback pressure in the drop-back pass game, where they hurt us was on a pin-and-pull scheme to their boundary, to their sideline where the guard pulled backside. Just a basic pin and pull scheme, they pinned us down. We got pinned in there where we weren't able to get over the top."

Ah, the pin-and-pull rushing concept that Silverfield has been known for his entire head coaching career. The irony Saturday was that Georgia was using the concept to exploit Arkansas while Silverfield's own offense has struggled to establish much of anything on the ground.

And we all know if a team has trouble blocking up front, it's going to make for a long season on "The Hill" at Razorback Stadium.

Stockton has been one of the highest-rated quarterbacks in the country this season with a 92.8 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus through three weeks. He sits behind Mike Hawkins Jr. (West Virginia) and Anthony Colandrea (Nebraska) and was just as good on Saturday against a Razorback defense that has struggled to slow down opposing dual-threat passers.

Arguably the biggest breakdown in slowing Georgia down came in the second quarter, when Stockton pulled his way to the sideline on third down for a 62-yard gain to the Razorbacks' 11-yard line before Kyeaure Magloire chased him down for a tackle.

Arkansas lets Gunner Stockton run for 73 yards. #CFB #georgia #arkansas pic.twitter.com/5umFuOEI1M
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) September 19, 2026

"It was almost like a true load option where he was just running," Silverfield said. "We know what a tremendous athlete he is. We've got to be able to set the edge on that, and then we got to be able to show up and fill from the safety position. The linebacker's got to be a flow over the top.

"Clearly, we didn't do a good enough job doing that, and he hurt us with his legs. We'd seen that. We talked about this week to our guys. Everybody knows, hey, what a what a great run game Georgia has had and has. But we knew the quarterback's effectiveness to run with his legs and it showed up today."

Georgia didn't need anything particularly exotic to have success in the run game, either. Whether it was a old school delayed draw to the right or left, sprinkled in with a designed QB run or just something up the middle to challenge the A-gaps, the Razorbacks knew what was coming, but weren't elaborate enough defensively to slow the Bulldogs enough to make it matter.

"Right off top of my head, two of them were, we were able to win a one-on-one battle, which we're going to need to be able to do," Silverfield said. "Sometimes, one of them was generating pressure, a called fire zone on us, our creeper check, and then the other two were the ability to win the one-on-one in a pass-rush situation, which we are going to need to continue to do.

Arkansas Razorback coach Ryan Silverfield paces the sideline during a game against Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 19, 2026. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

"I was pleased with that, but you've got to be able to tie those in with being able to stop the run. There's sometimes they got some play-action where they'd be under and we would be peeking around too much, trying to figure it out, and then we got hit. We can't set that away from the quarterback. We got to hit those, and that would allow us the ability to maybe get more shots on the quarterback."

Utah presented many of the same problems a week earlier, stressing the Razorbacks with quarterback mobility and forcing defenders to remain disciplined with their eyes, leverage and gap responsibilities.

This week, it was a lack of physicality at the line of scrimmage and preventing Stockton from having his way on the edges that spoiled what could have been considered a fair defensive day.

Two games can become a statistical trend awfully quick during a season. Until Arkansas proves it can consistently set the edge and account for a mobile quarterbacks, every offensive coordinator left on the schedule has the blueprint of how to exploit the Razorbacks' defense.

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