The Razorbacks finished last season at 2-10. Surely, things could only get better from there, right? Apparently not. Arkansas’ latest rout at the hands of Georgia exposed the same problems that have plagued the program for years, but the most brutal sight wasn’t even on the field. It was in the stands. Despite playing at home, Arkansas had so many empty seats that a skunk found enough room to make the stadium its playground.

With a 1-2 record to start the season, there’s barely any enthusiasm among Arkansas fans heading into the games. The latest 45-17 defeat against the Bulldogs may have been the final nail in the coffin. Yet, despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the program, the first-year head coach, Ryan Silverfield, remains surprisingly optimistic about his team.

“All I know is to work harder at it, find ways to be more efficient, and find ways to go out there and have success. Like I said here, am I pis-ed? Absolutely. I am straight up pis-ed off. But guess what? We’ll get this fixed. I’ve got great, great faith in the football,” said Ryan Silverfield after Arkansas’ blowout loss to Georgia at home.

Just ahead of the game, enthusiasm among the fans was so low that there was barely a crowd around Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Anthony Dasher of UGASports showcased just how literally non-existent the crowd was inside the stadium. To make matters even worse, a literal skunk was spotted roaming around the field and even the stands.

Moreover, a section of the fanbase even launched an online petition to boycott the game and get the program to sack its AD Hunter Yurachek. The Razorback faithful holds Yurachek responsible for the downward spiral since he took over in 2017. That includes the worst record in the SEC in that period.

The lack of enthusiasm among Razorbacks fans is quite understandable in the current contexst. After opening the season with a win over North Alabama, Arkansas suffered a humiliating 10-43 defeat to Utah.

Arkansas’ latest setback only deepened the frustration surrounding the program. The Razorbacks managed to stay competitive defensively during the opening half, even coming close to keeping Georgia out of the red zone.

However, costly penalties eventually opened the door for the Bulldogs, who took a 14-0 lead. After that, Georgia carried a 21-3 advantage into halftime, while Arkansas’ lone score of the half came on an up-tempo drive late in the second quarter. Well, not everything went wrong for the Razorbacks. They were able to record three sacks against Georgia, but struggled to contain the Bulldogs on the ground.

The Bulldogs piled up 254 rushing yards while averaging six yards per carry, with quarterback Gunner Stockton pacing the attack with 97 rushing yards. Stockton also continued his efficient passing from Georgia’s opening two games, completing 10 of 13 attempts for 147 yards and a touchdown.

The Razorbacks also faced uncertainty at quarterback, with the decision to rotate two signal-callers adding another layer of difficulty. Despite Silverfield naming KJ Jackson the starter on Monday, Jackson and Memphis transfer AJ Hill both saw significant action. Jackson completed 20 of 27 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown, while Hill finished 8-of-14 for 76 yards.

“We had decided, really, on Monday that that’s what we were going to do,” Silverfield said. “The whole plan all along was to get KJ two series, and regardless of how those went, and then AJ, the next 2 series, and then make a decision from there.”

This QB carousel never really worked for Arkansas, as the Razorbacks struggled to put points on the board against the Bulldogs. Despite that, head coach Silverfield appears quite content with his team’s performance.

“Nobody’s going to want to hear this, [but] maybe took a little bit of a step today,” Silverfield said.