Ryan Silverfield explains decision to punt trailing Tennessee with under 2 minutes remaining
By Mark Kern
Published:
Ryan Silverfield and Arkansas lost a heartbreaking game on Saturday, as the Razorbacks gave up a fourth quarter lead and lost, 24-17, to Tennessee.
It has been a struggle in his first season, and the loss to the Volunteers is the latest in a string of difficult endings. Arkansas ended up punting on its final possession, down by 7 with 1:36 on the clock.
That decision was criticized after the game, and Silverfield explained what led to punting the ball.
“Yeah, at the time, I think we were 2-of-11 on third-down situations,” Ryan Silverfield told reporters after the game. “It was a 4th-and-10 if you don’t get it. So, you try to throw it, 1:40 left. All right, we use all three timeouts; that puts it at, let’s say, 1:25. They kick a field goal. You’re down 10 now with no timeouts, roughly a 1:20 left in the game. So, we need to score a touchdown in that situation and get the onside kick and kick a field goal just to tie it. That’s a pretty low percentage.”
It was a fourth-and-long situation, and Silverfield said the way the Razorbacks were protecting the quarterback played a role in the decision.
“I think a 4th-and-10 situation for us, especially the way we’re protecting at the end, probably was under a 5 percent chance to get it,” Silverfield said. “And if you can punt and play defense and stop the run on three downs, which we knew, if we had three downs to stop the run, we get the ball back and at least give ourselves a chance to tie it, and if it was under 20 seconds, we would have gone for two for the win. Obviously, we didn’t execute. We didn’t stop the run. Had we stopped it and get a chance, then you’re looking at one final drive to win the game.”
With the loss, the Razorbacks are now 2-4, with a 0-3 record in the SEC. They took a step in the right direction in terms of competing, but that decision by Silverfield is one that fans will be talking about for a few days.
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