10 Things To Know – North Alabama
Arkansas opens its 133rd season in program history Saturday against North Alabama. Kickoff between the Hogs and Lions inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, on SEC Network.
1 – Ryan Silverfield, one of the nation’s winningest coaches over the last three seasons, was named the 35th head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 30, 2025. Silverfield arrives on The Hill after spending the previous decade at Memphis, where he posted a 50-25 overall record during six seasons as a head coach, including a pair of 10+ win seasons in 2023 and 2024, while earning bowl eligibility in all six years.
2 – Arkansas is 104-24-4 all-time in season openers. Ryan Silverfield is 5-1 in season openers as a head coach, which includes a 40-0 win over North Alabama on Aug. 31, 2024.
3 – QB KJ Jackson was named the starting quarterback by Silverfield on Aug. 23, after winning the quarterback competition during fall camp. Jackson is set to be the first left-handed Arkansas quarterback to start a season opener since Barry Lunney Jr. accomplished the feat on Sept. 2, 1995, at SMU. Jackson and Lunney are the only two left-handed quarterbacks to start a season opener for Arkansas since at least 1950.
4 – Arkansas touts an all-time record of 108-22-2 in home openers in Fayetteville, including a 72-16 mark at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium since its opening in 1938. The Razorbacks have won their last five home openers in Fayetteville and own a 21-5 record in DWRRS home openers since 2000.
5 – DL Quincy Rhodes Jr. was named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Chuck Bednarik Award. The North Little Rock native is coming off a breakout junior season in 2025, tallying 44 total tackles with a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss in addition to eight sacks, six quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble. His 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by an Arkansas defender since Trey Flowers (15.5 TFL) in 2015. He also became the first Hog to register double-digit tackles for loss in a season since Landon Jackson (13.5 TFL) in 2023.
6 – Arkansas and North Alabama will be meeting for the first time on Saturday. The Razorbacks hold a 3-0 all-time record against United Athletic Conference members.
7 – Arkansas has scored in 58 consecutive games, which is the sixth-longest streak in program history and the longest since a 64-game streak from Nov. 14, 1987, to Nov. 11, 1995. The last time Arkansas was shut out was Oct. 2, 2021, in a loss to No. 2 Georgia.
8 – The Razorbacks’ 227 consecutive extra-points made streak, which began on Dec. 5, 2020, is the longest streak nationally based on date.
9 – The Arkansas Razorbacks’ coaching staff brings over 207 combined years of full-time experience at the collegiate and professional level. In addition to Silverfield, Arkansas has three assistant coaches who have served as head coaches at the FBS and FCS levels, including special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford (Georgia Southern, 2018-21), Ron Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana, 2012-17), and Mitch Stewart (Murray State, 2015-19).
10 – K Max Gilbert arrives in Fayetteville after spending the 2023-2025 seasons at Tennessee. The Memphis, Tenn., product ranks second among active FBS players in career points per game, averaging 8.5 per contest. In 2025, his 106 points ranked fifth in the SEC and his 64 PATs led the league and ranked fifth nationally.
