Silverfield Still Looking For Answers Just Like Razorback Fans

FAYETTEVILLE — It was better than "I don't know", but Ryan Silverfield's response to a question about how he felt following Arkansas' 26-23 road loss to Auburn on Saturday was still frustrating.

"I learned a long time ago that close doesn’t matter except for in horseshoes and hand grenades," Silverfield said.

But wait, there's more.

"But it does when you go back and watch it, you say, ‘Man, we were that close.’ Some of our games, we haven’t given ourselves a chance to even be in the game. Obviously, we gave ourselves a chance for all four quarters and didn’t play as well as we need to in certain parts. But when you’re there, like, how do we get this Arkansas football program over the hump? Because we’re showing we’re capable.

"Sometimes it’s, you know, just teaching guys how to win and what that looks like to finish and that belief that everything’s going to be good. Everything’s going to be alright. That’s my job, to make sure that’s instilled in those guys that we are capable. Whoever we line up against, but we got to do it for all four quarters. So when you’re close, man, all losses are gut-wrenching, as I’ve told you guys, and frustrating. But there’s also, 'Alright man, we gave ourselves a chance.' And those guys, I know good and well the guys in the locker room are going to pick themselves up off the mat like they have and continue to come out fighting."

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Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield as Auburn Tigers takes on Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It would've been okay if Silverfield stopped after his first line.

Yes, it's good that Arkansas is still fighting. It's worth pointing out that Silverfield's team is still fighting for him and that it hasn't let go of the rope.

But it's his job to both teach his players how to finish games and to get Arkansas football back over the hump. Save for a 31-21 win over a terrible Vanderbilt squad in Nashville, Arkansas hasn't gotten over the hump yet. It was blown out in losses to Utah, Georgia, Texas A&M and Missouri and is 0-2 in one-score games this year against Tennessee and Auburn.

Silverfield deserves some grace, given that he's in Year 1 and that he's working with the cheapest roster in the SEC. But at the end of the day, college football is a results-driven business where excuses, however, valid they may be, don't fly. And Razorback fans who are asking the same questions as Silverfield are already extremely frustrated.

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