
Sam Pittman’s Arkansas Razorbacks returned to Memphis’ Liberty Bowl on Saturday searching for a spark after a frustrating, largely self-inflicted loss at Ole Miss in their SEC opener the week before. Instead, they left Tennessee with a painful sense of déjà vu — for the second straight week, a late-game fumble cost them a chance at victory.
Arkansas appeared to be in control early, building a 28-10 lead with just 1:35 left in the first half. But Memphis clawed back, beginning with Brendon Lewis’ 38-yard touchdown strike just before halftime, and went on to outscore the Razorbacks 21-3 the rest of the way.
Turnovers proved decisive. The Tigers’ defense forced three of them, holding Arkansas’ normally explosive offense to only a field goal after the break. The most crushing came with just 1:18 remaining, when Mike Washington coughed up the ball at the Memphis six-yard line.
It echoed the previous week’s heartbreak at Ole Miss, when Jaylen Brown’s fumble derailed another late comeback bid. In back-to-back games, Arkansas literally dropped its chance to remain unbeaten and crack the Top 25. Now, instead of national recognition, it’s Memphis and Ole Miss who claim those spots while the Razorbacks limp back to Fayetteville at 2-2, bracing for a visit from Notre Dame.
Sam Pittman after the loss to Memphis:
“Well, congratulations to Memphis. They played a very physical, very good game,” Pittman said. “They outrushed us, they outscored us, and they finished with more yards than we did. Coming into the game, I thought we might have an advantage there, but their defense did a nice job against us. Offensively, they ran the ball however they wanted, with two guys going over 100 yards and nearly 300 rushing overall.
“We just didn’t tackle well. We weren’t sound in our run fits. For the second week in a row, we had a chance to win late and gave it away with a turnover. That’s really disappointing for our guys, because we had opportunities in both games. But you’ve got to give Memphis credit — they played a really, really good game and they’re well-coached.”
No Future in Front Running
Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield and his Tigers walked away from Saturday’s win over Arkansas owning the nation’s longest active winning streak in the FBS. Even when his team trailed by three scores late in the first half against one of college football’s most explosive offenses, Silverfield insisted he never wavered in belief.
“I told our guys, ‘Listen, we’ve got them exactly where we want them,’” Silverfield recalled. “And a couple of them looked at me and said, ‘Coach, really?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely — even though it may not look like it.’ Our first drive stalled out, but the mindset was there. We believed this game was ours, and it was going to be a four-quarter battle. And sure enough, it came down to the very last second.”
Arkansas opened the scoring when senior quarterback Taylen Green connected with transfer tight end Rohan Jones for a 62-yard touchdown strike. Memphis countered with 10 unanswered points — a 38-yard field goal from Gianni Spetic followed by a four-yard touchdown run from Brendon Lewis — to grab its first lead.
The Razorbacks then surged ahead with 21 straight points. Sophomore running back Braylen Russell broke free for a 16-yard score, Jones added a five-yard touchdown run, and Mike Washington powered in for another short rushing TD. Scott Starzyk tacked on a 45-yard field goal late in the third quarter for Arkansas’ final points of the night.
But when it came to a potential game-winning kick in the final seconds, Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield admitted he was betting against Starzyk.
“When we played at East Carolina five years ago, that situation came up and we let them score so we’d have time to win it with our offense,” Silverfield explained of his late-game thought process. “Tonight, it was the same decision: do we let them in, or try to get a stop? And I said, ‘Hey, listen. They’ve got a freshman kicker. He did a nice job tonight, but the week before he missed two kicks against Ole Miss.’”
“So I was going to bet on our field goal block team,” Silverfield said. “Hopefully, with a little pressure in that moment, their freshman kicker wouldn’t be able to handle it. But sure enough, we didn’t even get to that situation. I wish I could say I predicted Chris Bracey’s fumble recovery, but it all worked out in the end. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Who Wanted It More
For Arkansas, the frustration only continues to build. For the second straight week, the Razorbacks’ defense looked overmatched against FBS competition. A week earlier, they gave up 357 passing yards and 118 rushing yards to an Ole Miss team led by a Division II transfer at quarterback in a 41-35 loss at Oxford. On Saturday in Memphis, things didn’t get much better. Travis Williams’ defense surrendered 489 total yards to the Tigers, nearly 300 of them on the ground.
Memphis sealed its win with a pair of bruising, unforgettable plays. Sutton Smith capped a 95-yard drive by shaking off preseason All-SEC linebacker Xavien Sorey in the backfield, then sprinting 65 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:51 remaining. After Arkansas coughed up a fumble in the final minutes, backup quarterback Arrington Maiden put the game away by dragging 300-pound defensive tackle Ian Geffard — along with several other Razorbacks — across the line for a game-clinching first down.
“Well, the whole plan was to hand the ball off to the running back, tell him to put two hands on the football, and get three yards in a cloud of dust,” Silverfield said. “If you get a little more, great. Next thing I know, Arrington keeps it — and those legs just keep churning.”
“It was one of those, ‘Oh, oh!’ moments — and then he got the first down,” Silverfield said of Maiden’s unexpected keeper. “That speaks volumes about our young men, every single one of them. Do you think Arrington thought he’d be in with 22 seconds left, trying to win the game? Not at all. But his preparation and mindset were phenomenal. We talk about focus for 60 minutes. Well, he needed it for 59 minutes and 38 seconds — and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Back to the Drawing Board
For Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks, it’s back to square one.
“I guess we’ve got a lot of work to do — a lot of work,” Pittman admitted. “We tried to fix some things defensively from a week ago. I don’t know how much we got fixed, to be honest, giving up 500 yards again.
“We’ve got to be better offensively too. On the second-to-last drive, we were in field-goal range and took a sack. That knocked us out. If we kick there, we’re up eight — assuming the kick is good — and the game looks a lot different. Instead, we gave them life. Bottom line, there are a thousand scenarios you can name, but you can’t let a team go 95 yards for the go-ahead score. And they did it pretty easily. We have to do a better job there.”
Official Scenario
Arkansas keeps finding new ways to fall short in close games, and too often, questionable officiating seems to make matters worse — especially on the road. Pittman said he submitted several calls from the Ole Miss game to the SEC office for review, believing they went unfairly against the Razorbacks.
Against Memphis, there’s no such appeals process for non-conference play, but Pittman felt his team was once again on the wrong end. The Tigers’ lone passing touchdown — a 38-yard strike from Lewis to Cortez Braham just before halftime — came after Braham appeared to shove Arkansas corner Julian Neal to the turf. Instead of an offensive pass interference flag, Neal was whistled for the penalty, despite having already notched an interception earlier in the game alongside Miguel Mitchell.
“I thought we had pretty good coverage,” Pittman said. “I felt like we got pushed off on. Whether we did or not, I don’t know — we’ll see on tape. But when they threw the flag, I thought it was on them, not us. Evidently, the official saw it differently. What I saw was different — but that’s why he’s the official.”
Similar to the week before, the questionable calls didn’t end there. A long run by Taylen Green that would have set Arkansas up inside the Memphis five was erased when officials flagged receiver O’Mega Blake for holding — despite Blake himself appearing to be the one mugged by a Tigers defender.
Even so, with no risk of being fined by the SEC for criticizing non-conference officiating, Pittman still refused to pin the loss on the referees when asked postgame.
“I appreciate the comment and all that,” Pittman said. “But to be honest, as poorly as we played at times on both offense and defense, if we just hang on to the ball there, we win. It’s not as big a deal. But I appreciate the comment.”
Third-Down Conversions
One area Pittman did single out was Arkansas’ uncharacteristic struggles on third down. The Razorbacks entered the game ranked among the nation’s best in third-down efficiency, but against Memphis they managed just three conversions on 10 attempts.
“They were pretty aggressive in the secondary,” Pittman said. “Taylen didn’t take off as much this week as he had before. And for whatever reason, we were in third-and-long more than we usually are. We came in No. 1 in the country, and today we just didn’t get it done — I think we were three for whatever.
“On first down, we were trying to run the ball, and too often we ended up with negative yardage. That was probably the biggest issue. In the second half, we made a conscious effort to run it more because we had some success there. In the first half, the plan was to run and set up play action, but it’s hard to do that when the run game isn’t working. So really, we just kept starting behind the chains.”
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