The Follow: Razorbacks Still Searching For Offensive Identity After Georgia Loss

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Outside of garbage time touchdowns, Arkansas' offense has been lifeless for the most part. The unit finished with 300 total yards of offense in a 45-17 loss to the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday inside Razorback Stadium.

Whether it's play calling or lack thereof, deficiencies along the offensive line and a running game that's been non-existent for three weeks the Razorbacks are on the front seat of the struggle bus and that ride isn't slowing down.

At one point midway through the third quarter, the Razorbacks had just one total yard rushing but finished with 17 for the game. There have been some teams through the years, but averaging a measly 77 yards through three weeks ranks below Rutgers at No. 135 nationally out of 138 teams.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Cam Settles looks for running room in the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Image

There's no push at the line of scrimmage, but even when there's holes to run through they're swallowed up quicker than the Egyptians in the Red Sea. It's frustrating to watch, and must be a humbling experience for first-year coach Ryan Silverfield, who hasn't lost this much in his college career since his stint as a graduate assistant under George O'Leary at Central Florida in 2006.

His passing game, between a pair of quarterbacks in KJ Jackson and AJ Hill hasn't been much better despite completing 28-of-41 pass attempts for 288 yards and one touchdown against a hard-hitting Georgia defense.

That goes back to play calling such as the double-pass back to AJ Hill, who was tackled at the line of scrimmage, which killed a potential first half scoring drive following a 38-yard reception by Chris Marshall.

Speaking of the former 5-star wideout, Marshall continues to be one of the few bright spots on offense with his acrobatic, one-handed receptions. He finished the day with seven receptions on 10 targets, 104 yards and 49 yards after the catch.

The most frustrating part of this whole transition is that offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey's unit doesn't even know what it is supposed to look like.

Across all four seasons at Memphis, his offenses weren't defined exclusively by throwing the football or pounding it between the tackles. They were defined by the ability to do both, attacking all over the field and adjusting to what a defense was willing to give them.

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Chris Marshall runs after a reception against No. 2 Georgia on Sept. 19, 2026. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

Memphis averaged 444.5 yards and 35.7 points per game in 2024, including 174.1 yards rushing and 270.5 through the air. Even after four-year starting quarterback Seth Henigan departed, the Tigers averaged 183.2 yards on the ground and 228.4 through the air, maintaining a potent attack last season.

Balance was the identity Silverfield and Cramsey preached, but through three games this season that hasn't been the case. The explosive philosophy that worked against the likes of East Carolina, Tulsa, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, Temple and many others hasn't been quite as productive at Arkansas.

Perhaps the actual playbook was sucked out the window going over the Interstate 40 bridge crossing the Mississippi River between Memphis and Arkansas.

What might be considered more realistic is having Cramsey simplify some things because he doesn't quite have the horses he thought he did when taking over the Arkansas offense. Outside of a couple of first quarter drives to start games, once games start to settle it seems to get harder for his offense to adjust or find a rhythm.

There have been some single-high safety looks where the Razorbacks could do some hot read work and attack the middle of the field, but the reads happen to be on the outside instead.

While the pre-snap penalties were controlled on Saturday, there were still some issues with ball security such as Jackson's third quarter fumble that led to a Georgia touchdown drive. That allowed to put the Bulldogs up 31-3 and it was smooth sailing from then on.

Fortunately, the Razorbacks will have a week to work out the kinks on offense with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and coach Tre Lamb coming to town for the team's final non-conference game of the 2026 season. But that doesn't mean Arkansas gets off scot-free either.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jackson attempts pass against Georgia Bulldogs at Razorback Stadium on Sept. 19, 2026. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

Despite struggling for much of the past four seasons, Lamb has the program off to a 2-0 start that includes a home victory over Oklahoma State in Week 1.

The Razorbacks must establish the run, get Jackson comfortable at quarterback, and find ways to put the ball in Chris Marshall's hands as consistently as possible.

Don't forget to give the offensive line, which has struggled through the first three weeks, something it can execute. Maybe some tips on how to slow a pass rush down such as clipping a defender with his hip or something to knock their timing off.

Whatever those changes might be, at least show something of substance when it comes to improvement.

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