Silverfield Had No Regrets On Fourth And 1 Gone Wrong Vs Mizzou

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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield had no regrets about the fourth and 1 play call in the first quarter of Arkansas' 34-10 loss to No. 23 Missouri that resulted in a defensive touchdown for the Tigers.
Silverfield opted to leave his offense on the field, and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey called a play which saw Cam Settles attempt to take a direct snap from center Kash Courtney.
But on a rainy night in Fayetteville, the football went through Settles' hands, was batted and kicked around and was eventually recovered in the end zone by Missouri's Darris Smith for a touchdown that put the Tigers up 10-0.
It was the only touchdown of the first half for Mizzou, which struggled to get going offensively in the first two quarters before finally finding some rhythm in the second half.
DEFENSE ➡️ OFFENSE@BBsurvivor100 https://t.co/utwqKcgoI7 pic.twitter.com/YmY5piT2wS
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) November 1, 2026
"I thought it was an excellent play call," Silverfield said. "And I would do the exact same play call assuming we can catch the snap and go get a yard. And I would continue to go for it on the 34-yard line, as we've discussed a lot in our press conferences.
"Anytime you get fourth and 1, opening drive, whatever, we're going to go for it. Unfortunately, we didn't execute and we've got to do a better job of [that]. We practiced that play with a wet ball yesterday and clearly we didn't execute it well enough, and it's my job to put us in a better position."
The decision came at a time in the game when Arkansas' defense was playing quite well, having held Missouri to a field goal after QB KJ Jackson had a pass tipped, intercepted and then returned into UA territory.
"We called a play for Cam to catch the ball and run it," Jackson said of Mizzou's defensive touchdown. "And we practiced it. We practiced it in wet ball drills yesterday, and we just didn't execute it the right way."
The Razorbacks proceeded to turn the ball over twice more in the second half, fumbling thrice in the game as a whole and committing four turnovers. It was the fifth time this season Arkansas lost the turnover battle.
The play was arguably the biggest moment of the first half, especially given how well the Razorback defense played in the first 30 minutes.
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Sam Stubbs is a student at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in journalism. He has worked at the UA’s student newspaper, the Arkansas Traveler, since October 2025, becoming the assistant sports editor in December 2025. When he's not writing about the Razorbacks, Sam can be found covering NASCAR for Yardbarker and is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), winning an award for race coverage from the association in February 2025. He's previously worked for Heavy, Field Level Media, Frontstretch and FanSided.
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