Other CFB Teams Make Obvious Changes, Arkansas Fine With Status Quo

FAYETTEVILLE — After another college football offensive coordinator was put on the chopping block on Sunday, the disconnect between the Arkansas football program and its fanbase continues to grow.

Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey still has a job with the Razorbacks after continually doing things with his unit that aren’t adding up.

Whether that’s rolling his left-handed quarterback KJ Jackson to his right because “he feels comfortable” doing it still doesn’t make things right. There isn’t a single time this season when Jackson has thrown across his body and had any success at all. 

How about calling a draw on third-and-six with momentum in your pocket, or whatever this play call was after Cam Settles’ 46-yard run put the Razorbacks in the red zone?

If the personnel groupings, play calls and other decisions make less sense by the game, surely the statistics offer a reason to keep Cramsey in place, right?

Arkansas ranks No. 120 nationally in scoring offense at 20 points per game and No. 116 in total offense at 337.9 yards per game. Its 14 turnovers rank No. 109 among FBS teams.

Coordinators Already Receiving Pink Slips

First-year Michigan OC Jason Beck was let go after his offense scored six points against a two-win Michigan State team. The Wolverines’ offense currently ranks No. 126 in scoring offense at 19.6 points per game.

After another disappointing loss in Lincoln, the Nebraska Cornhuskers parted ways with OC Dana Holgorsen after the team’s fourth straight loss on Friday night to Illinois. Holgorsen’s unit had failed to score more than 17 points in four straight games and only surpassed the 35 point mark once since being named the play caller ahead of the USC game in 2024.

Oklahoma fired Ben Arbuckle last week after just over 1.5 seasons in Norman. Arbuckle was also once considered a coaching prodigy on his way up the ranks as his offenses at Washington State averaged over 34 points per game, including a 36.6 per game mark in 2024 (No. 6, FBS). 

Arbuckle inherited an Oklahoma offense that struggled to move the ball and score in 2024. In his first season, the Sooners finished No. 79 in scoring and No. 92 in total offense. Then, the bottom fell out this season by ranking No. 113 in total offense and No. 108 in scoring. 

In a year when college football saw coordinator changes come early out at Colorado State where defensive coordinator Tyson Summers had his play calling duties taken away on Oct. 3, he decided to take his ball and go home instead of finishing the game.

It doesn’t make sense for Arkansas to trot the same offense onto to the field and expect a different result week after week.

Ultimately, that decision belongs to Silverfield and so does the responsibility for what comes after the season and beyond. 

If Silverfield is allowing Cramsey to continue operating his unit like they’re playing Group of Five opponents, this offense isn’t going to improve — even if that comes with an increased budget for a roster in 2027.

Fans are barely hanging on to hope already. Asking them to be patient while they work the kinks out doesn’t work anymore. Especially when teams like Kentucky, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Utah, and South Carolina thrive with similar resources. 

Other programs in the same position as Arkansas have reached the point where poor production demands change. That should be the same expectation at Arkandas, or at least that’s how it used to be. 

Even Sam Pittman was aware enough that he needed an in-season change when he fired OC Dan Enos in 2023. While the choice led to a win at Florida, it was more or less a relief for a fanbase that had grown tired of disappointment. 

Don’t expect an in-season change now. Kind of like that so-called “review” of the football program’s resources. There’s no clarity, or hope that fans will get an actual update. 

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