Arkansas
Arkansas Looking To Do Something it Hasn’t Done To LSU Since Nick Saban Was HC
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It may be hard to believe in the present day, but Arkansas did beat a Nick Saban-coached team once upon a time. Twice, actually.
Of course, it occurred when Saban was the head coach at LSU, not Alabama, where his Crimson Tide squads beat Arkansas 17 times in a row.
But all the way back in 2000, just months after Nolan Richardson’s Hoop Hogs delivered an SEC Tournament title, the Razorbacks beat LSU 14-3 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in Saban’s first campaign in Baton Rouge.
Do those circumstances sound familiar?
Yes, they might just be coincidences, but John Calipari’s team did cut down the nets in Bridgestone Arena on March 15 after winning the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas football is preparing to host LSU this fall (albeit in Fayetteville, not Little Rock) and the Tigers have a first-year head coach of their own in Saban protege Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, of course, isn’t new to the SEC or Arkansas fans. The Razorbacks went 2-4 against Kiffin during his six years as the head coach at Ole Miss.
However, he does give the Razorbacks an opportunity, while a seemingly small one, to do something they haven’t done since beating the Tigers with Saban calling the shots in 2000: beat an LSU team led by a first-year head coach.
Teams led by first-year head coaches are supposedly more vulnerable and susceptible to defeat, though that trend has been largely nullified in the modern era due to the transfer portal and NIL.
Arkansas didn’t seem to get that memo, however. In its last three games against LSU when the Tigers had a first-year head coach, it lost all three.
Les Miles’ first LSU team beat the Hogs in a 19-17 nailbiter in Baton Rouge in 2005, though the 4-6 Razorbacks were surprisingly competitive against a 9-1 LSU squad.
In 2017, Ed Orgeron’s maiden voyage as LSU’s HC included a 33-10 rout of the Razorbacks at Tiger Stadium against a wounded Austin Allen.
In 2022, Arkansas gave LSU, the eventual SEC West champions, all it could handle in a 13-10 loss in Brian Kelly’s first tussle with the Hogs on what resembled more of a frozen tundra than Razorback Stadium.
Is there much hope for Arkansas and Ryan Silverfield to beat LSU on Nov. 28? Not really, and understandably so. Kiffin is not your average first-year head coach.
He’ll have an immensely talented QB in Sam Leavitt under center and a roster that could contend for a College Football Playoff berth or even an SEC title.
But depending on how Arkansas’ first 11 games of 2026 go, the Hogs could be playing for more than pride. There is potential for Arkansas to be fighting for bowl eligibility in Week 13 should it find victories against the likes of Utah, Auburn and South Carolina.
A win would be the Razorbacks’ first over their border rival at home since 2014. That’s not to mention the inherent nostalgia that will come with the Battle for the Golden Boot returning to its rightful place on the college football schedule as a Thanksgiving weekend rivalry game.
All that’s left for Silverfield to do is to dial up some 2000 magic and try and become the first man since Houston Nutt to beat the LSU Tigers with a first-year head coach on the opposite sideline.
Hogs on SI Season Preview Series
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Utah: Silverfield Doesn’t Know What Razorbacks Are, Utes Will Provide Answers
Georgia: Razorbacks Might Not Beat Georgia, But Offer Test Kirby Smart Didn’t Expect
Texas A&M: Can Hogs’ Rebuilt Defense Slow Down Marcel Reed?
Tennessee: Razorbacks Must Reclaim Homefield Advantage Against Tennessee
Vanderbilt: Arkansas Might Be Catching Vanderbilt at Right Time in 2026
Missouri: Silverfield Could Have Master Plan to Finally Beat Missouri
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