Ryan Silverfield ruined what should have been a good day

This should have been a Sunday when Arkansas football fans woke up and realized that the Hogs can actually compete in the SEC. They played Tennessee on even terms as a 13.5-point underdog. They looked like they belonged on the same field. They didn't get blown out. More than that, they actually led for a portion of the second half. They made Tennessee sweat. Midway through the fourth quarter, the outcome of the game was a jump ball, a 50-50 proposition. We needed to see Arkansas put up a real fight and make an opponent earn a win. The Hogs did that against the Vols. We saw progress on many fronts from Ryan Silverfield's team. We saw better run blocking and overall offensive line play. We saw players competing with more toughness and belief. We saw a team not ready to give up on its season. So many of the things we didn't see over the past several weeks against SEC teams (or Utah) finally emerged. We should be talking about the progress this team made ... but we aren't. Why? Ryan Silverfield coached scared.

It really is the worst sin a new coach can commit, especially with a team which is going to be an underdog in nearly every game it plays. Arkansas went into this game versus Tennessee as the worst team in the SEC, with the only possible exception of Vanderbilt (whom the Hogs face next, interestingly enough). UA had absolutely nothing to lose. The approach to this game was to go for it, literally and figuratively. The Hogs aren't competing for a playoff berth. They aren't in the running for an SEC championship. They aren't likely to make a bowl game. 

A team in Arkansas' position should play freely, like what we saw in the third quarter when the team played its best 15 minutes of football this season. A team in Arkansas' position should always be aggressive and attack the game.

Ryan Silverfield didn't do that. He and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey ran the ball on 3rd and 10 late in the game to give the ball back to the Vols, who then broke the 17-17 tie and went up 24-17.

When Arkansas got the ball back, it faced 4th and long with under two minutes left, down seven. The Hogs and Silverfield punted.

Via Best of Arkansas Sports, Silverfield said "I think a 4th-and-10 percentage for us, especially the way we were protecting at the end, probably was whatever, under 5% chance to get it. If you can punt and play defense and stop the run on three downs … We’d get the ball back and at least give ourselves a chance to tie it."

The game theory isn't terrible, but it isn't fully enlightened, either. If you trail by seven with under two minutes left, you're not in a good, high-leverage position. You don't have the luxury of not giving yourself all four downs to score. Beyond the game theory, Silverfield needs to realize he has to show the same fight and hunger his players did. Sometimes you focus less on crunching numbers and more on showing belief. Sometimes it's less about the theory and more about the passion. Arkansas fans want to see that, but they didn't get it from their coach. Ryan Silverfield needs to learn from this. We will see how the coming weeks unfold.