Information for this story was provided by Arkansas Communications.
Arkansas opens its 133rd season in program history Saturday at home against North Alabama. Kickoff at Razorback Stadium is set for 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network.
Here’s what fans should know heading into kickoff:
1. Silverfield takes over as head coach. Ryan Silverfield was named the 35th head coach in Arkansas history on Nov. 30, 2025. He spent the previous decade at Memphis, where he went 50-25 across six seasons, including two 10-win campaigns in 2023 and 2024, and reached a bowl game every year.
2. The Hogs have a strong opener history. Arkansas is 104-24-4 all-time in season openers. Silverfield himself is 5-1 in openers as a head coach, including a 40-0 win over this same North Alabama team back on Aug. 31, 2024.
3. KJ Jackson makes history under center. Jackson won the starting quarterback job on Aug. 23 after fall camp. He’ll be the first left-handed quarterback to start an Arkansas season opener since Barry Lunney Jr. did it in 1995 at SMU. Jackson and Lunney are the only two lefties to open a season at quarterback for the Razorbacks since at least 1950.
4. Fayetteville has been a good home for openers. Arkansas is 108-22-2 all-time in home openers and 72-16 at Razorback Stadium since it opened in 1938. The Razorbacks have won five straight home openers and are 21-5 in that spot since 2000.
5. Quincy Rhodes Jr. enters with national attention. The North Little Rock native landed on the preseason watch list for the 2026 Chuck Bednarik Award after a breakout junior year. In 2025 he posted 44 tackles, a team-high 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. His tackle-for-loss number was the most by a Hog since Trey Flowers in 2015.
6. First meeting all-time with North Alabama. Saturday marks the first-ever matchup between the two programs. Arkansas is 3-0 all-time against United Athletic Conference opponents.
7. The scoring streak is alive. Arkansas has scored in 58 straight games, the sixth-longest streak in program history and the longest since a 64-game run from 1987 to 1995. The Razorbacks haven’t been shut out since a 2021 loss to Georgia.
8. Special teams owns a national record. Arkansas has made 227 consecutive extra points, a streak dating back to December 2020, currently the longest active streak in the country.
9. The coaching staff is loaded with experience. Silverfield’s staff has a combined 207-plus years of full-time coaching experience at the college and pro level. Three assistants have head coaching experience of their own: Chad Lunsford (Georgia Southern), Ron Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana) and Mitch Stewart (Murray State).
10. A new kicker joins the mix. Max Gilbert arrives from Tennessee, where he ranked second nationally among active FBS players in career points per game at 8.5. In 2025 he scored 106 points, fifth-best in the SEC, and led the league with 64 made PATs, fifth-most nationally.
