Arkansas Football's Painful Fourth-Quarter Trend Among Worst in College Football

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas' troubles in recent years hasn't been getting ahead in the fourth quarter, but being able to do turn those leads into victories.

Nebraska leads the nation with 18 such losses since 2018, although those fourth-quarter collapses have become less frequent under Matt Rhule. However, Kansas (9) and Arkansas (8) lead the way over the past three seasons with those shortcomings showing no sign of slowing down soon.

The Razorbacks have been experts in finding ways to lose close games that come down to the wire with a trend that started under Chad Morris, resurfaced under Sam Pittman and continues now with Ryan Silverfield at the helm.

One week following a fourth quarter collapse at home against Tennessee, Silverfield was able to capture the lead for good in the third quarter and his team never yielded in the fourth.

Notable Fourth Quarter Letdowns

Pittman certainly took a lot of grief for his record in one score games which was 7-19 during his time as Arkansas coach. While his teams were able to play with some type of killer mentality in his second and third seasons, the Razorbacks did lose four games in the fourth quarter after having a lead.

One of those first occurrences happened against Ole Miss in 2023. After falling behind 17-7 late in the second quarter, the Razorbacks scored 13 unanswered points to take a 20-17 lead early in the fourth.

However, Arkansas couldn't hold onto a lead as the final two drives on the night resulted in five total yards of offense before falling to the Rebels 27-20 in Oxford. That season would end up spinning out of control with a 4-8 overall record, but the same closing problems would rear its ugly head again in 2024.

Spoiling Special Season

The old saying goes that hindsight is 20/20 and that can't be truer than the outcome of Arkansas' 2024 season. There was some genuine excitement for Razorback fans as Bobby Petrino returned to the program as offensive coordinator, and helped his unit pick up chunk yardage and plenty of points.

Whether Petrino's offense squandered opportunities or the defense began to fall apart in the second half, the Hogs couldn't get out of their own way when it mattered most: the fourth quarter.

Arkansas' loss at Oklahoma State came after the Razorbacks took a 21-13 lead into the fourth quarter, tied it twice and still lost in overtime.

The loss to Texas A&M in Arlington saw the Razorbacks take a 17-14 lead on a field goal by Kyle Ramsey with 13:24 left to go. But the Aggies had other plans by rattling off an eight play, 75 yard drive to take a 21-17 lead.

Quarterback Taylen Green had one last chance to score a signature victory, but a strip sack with 1:30 sent Arkansas back home with a 3-2 overall record.

The Razorbacks were given one last chance to improve their bowl destination in what was a snowy day at Missouri. After taking a 21-20 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Hogs had a 79% chance of pulling out the victory, according to ESPN analytics.

Just a couple plays later, Arkansas had Missouri dead to rights on third down, but an 11-yard reception by Luther Burden III kept the go-ahead drive alive.

The Tigers eventually scored on a 30-yard run by quarterback Brady Cook and the defense buckled down in the final minutes to keep the Battle Line Rivalry trophy in Columbia for the third year in a row.

Instead of finishing the regular season with a 9-3 record and an opportunity to play in a more prestigious bowl game, Arkansas was left wondering once again about what could've been following another 6-6 campaign under Pittman.

Unfortunately, that's been the case long before the 2018 season, because there were fourth quarter shortcomings during the Bret Bielema years, too. The Razorbacks lost 12 games from 2013-17 with losses to Rutgers, LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M (3), Mississippi State (3), and Missouri (3).

Now, it's up to Silverfield to reverse a trend that has followed Arkansas through four coaching staffs and more than a decade of disappointment. The first-year coach experienced both sides of the equation over the past two weeks, watching his team let a fourth-quarter opportunity slip away against Tennessee before finally closing the door on Vanderbilt to snap a 14-game SEC losing streak.

There's still plenty of work to be done before Arkansas can consider itself a consistent winner in the SEC, but Saturday's victory was at least a step in the right direction — even if it was a battle for last place.

With five games to go in the regular season, the likelihood is that Silverfield will find himself in more intense fourth quarter games. The biggest question will be whether or not his team can stay ahead when playing with a lead.

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