FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Close football games have been the arch-nemesis of the University of Arkansas in recent years. Arkansas notoriously went 0-6 in one-score games in 2025 and hasn't won a game decided by eight points or less since it upset No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 in Fayetteville on Oct. 5, 2024. That was also the last time the Hogs beat a Power Four opponent and an SEC team inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Ryan Silverfield might be the perfect man to change that. During his six seasons as the head coach at Memphis, Silverfield went 19-15 in one-score games, including a 5-1 mark in 2024. Compared to Sam Pittman, who was only 7-19 in one-score games during his tenure in Fayetteville, that's a notable difference. Pittman was especially bad in close games during his final three-and-a-half seasons, going 4-14 in one-score games from 2022-25. He lost the only two he coached in 2025, including one to Silverfield and Memphis, before he was fired. Of all the issues surrounding Arkansas' football program that were dropped on Silverfield's doorstep when he arrived in northwest Arkansas — from a team with over 40 transfers needing to gel, a trend of turnovers in recent years and rebuilding the overall culture — finding a way to win close games is perhaps the most important one. Heck, even winning just one in 2026 would be an improvement over what the Hogs did in 2025, when they lost all six games that were decided by one possession. There will be plenty of chances for Arkansas to contest close games this season, beginning with its Week 2 road trip to Utah. Arkansas would take a win over the Utes any way it can get it, but winning a nailbiter may arguably be better for the Razorbacks than running away with the game. Arkansas' consistent inability to close out games and the mind-boggling mistakes it would make in the final moments of them seemed to indicate a lack of mental fortitude in recent years when games weren't blowouts, but rather, came down to the wire. To be successful in the SEC and the upper echelons of college football as a whole, winning close games is a must. Silverfield has proven that he can do that, albeit at the Group of Six level, and his ability, or lack thereof, to do the same at Arkansas will likely determine how long he sticks around at UA. Sign up to our free newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter) for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow