Arkansas football still craves feelings from 2024 Tennessee win

FAYETTEVILLE — A sea of jubilant fans clad in red flooded onto Frank Broyles Field. The goal posts came down, Sam Pittman brimmed with pride and Arkansas football had secured its biggest victory in recent memory.

It was two years ago this very week that the Razorbacks pulled off a stunning home upset over Tennessee. At the time, the Vols were ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and it was the Hogs’ first home win over a top-five team in 25 years.

It was Oct. 5, 2024, and the Arkansas program hasn’t been able to replicate that feeling in the years that have passed. There have been eight SEC home games played inside Razorback Stadium since the upset over Tennessee. The Hogs have lost all eight by an average margin of defeat of 15.8 points.

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It’s a problem that befuddled head coach Ryan Silverfield when he first arrived in his new post.

“That was a grand theme of mine after my first three months,” Silverfield said this week. “Like, why have there been these failures at home? Why have you only won one Power 4 game at home in the last three years?”

Tennessee returns to Razorback Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10. Arkansas hopes it can be a full-circle moment and end this dreadful run inside its home grounds.

The Vols are fully aware of the history. They haven’t won in Fayetteville since 2001 and in the midst of a four-game road losing streak in this rivalry.

Head coach Josh Huepel reminded this year’s Tennessee team about the struggles. Some players were on the 2024 team that suffered a shocking defeat.

“I didn’t know the history (until Heupel said it). But I was a freshman when we went there and lost (in 2024),” wide receiver Mike Matthews said. “I remember that time and that feeling, so I know enough.”

The 2024 meeting between these teams had major ripple effects across the Arkansas program. Without that win, the Hogs would not have been bowl eligible and they would have gone 2-6 in the SEC. There’s a chance Arkansas would have parted ways with Pittman before the 2025 campaign, although there was a trend of schools holding onto their coaches that offseason as athletic budgets prepared for the unknown impacts of revenue-sharing.

So Pittman stayed, lasted five games into the next season and then got fired following an embarrassing blowout at the hands of Notre Dame. It was the eighth-largest margin of defeat for a home game in school history.

Now, Silverfield is trying to restore some home magic. He’s investigating every crack, from the gameday atmosphere to nutrition, but Slverfield knows there’s only one magic cure.

“Obviously, winning will get more tails in the seats. I understand that. Winning will allow us to continue to create a great home field advantage,” he said.

There isn’t much optimism from the fan base entering this weekend thanks to a disastrous start to Silverfield’s tenure. Arkansas is 0-3 against Power 4 opponents this season with every loss eclipsing a 27-point margin. Some fans attempted to organize a boycott of the last home SEC game.

That pessimism extends to the sportsbooks, who view Arkansas as roughly a two-touchdown underdog despite Tennessee going with a backup quarterback. George MacIntyre will reportedly make the first start of his career on Saturday. Faizon Brandon is questionable on the SEC Availability Report and is dealing with an injury he sustained in the Volunteers‘ loss to Texas two weeks prior.

What Silverfield needs is a night like the one Pittman provided in 2024.

The entire state needs something to rally behind, whether that comes this week or down the line in one of the other three league home games still on the schedule.

“Every week I crave a win, and they’re all big and they’re all hard losses,” Silverfield said. “I know you guys quite often ask me about momentum and all those things. You want to win every game. I’m a competitor.”

Losses are hard on Silverfield, but as time continues to tick further away from the last win over Tennessee, it feels like home wins are getting harder to secure for Arkansas.

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas football still craves feelings from 2024 Tennessee win