Silverfield Said It Best: This One's For The State Of Arkansas

NASHVILLE — As I watched Max Gilbert make a 39-yard field goal and give Arkansas a 10-point lead in the waning moments of Saturday's 31-21 victory over Vanderbilt, I thought about the last time I watched Arkansas break an absurdly long SEC losing streak against Mississippi State.

I remember feeling so much more joyful then than I did on Saturday. Maybe, I pondered, it was because I was younger and had yet to be jaded by the ensuing five years of Razorback football.

Maybe it was because, as a beat writer covering UA athletics, I've taken on a more objective stance (at least, in professional settings). Maybe it's because despite Saturday's win, I'm still unsure if Arkansas has the chance to win another game this season, or if Ryan Silverfield is the man that can truly both turn Arkansas around and sustain success, or if athletic director Hunter Yurachek will make it to Jan. 1 in his current role.

Whatever the reason was that the expected emotion of watching Arkansas snap a 14-game winless streak didn't come over me like a flood doesn't matter.

The Hogs — my Hogs, your Hogs and the team that 95 percent of this state calls their own regardless of whether or not they attended the University of Arkansas — are winners of a Southeastern Conference football game again, and as you should know by now, that's not something to take for granted.

Right now, I probably wouldn't pick Arkansas to win another game this year, even with how poorly Missouri played against Ole Miss on Saturday or how inconsistent Auburn's offense has been or the fact that South Carolina may have an interim head coach on the sidelines when they come to Fayetteville on Nov. 14.

But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Saturday's game, nor does it mean you can't enjoy a much-needed win, either.

In fact, Arkansas has a bye week on Oct. 24. Take the extra week and celebrate a little more while you watch the Hogs play Gonzaga in the first of two men's basketball exhibitions inside Bud Walton Arena.

Winning always means more when you've been losing, and for a state that has suffered through two years of poor football from the one and only team that unites all four corners and 75 counties, Saturday's win was extra special.

Silverfield said it best in his post-game news conference: "That win was for the players in the locker room... and then for all the fans in Arkansas. And so that was for the entire state."

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