Arkansas football schedule gets tougher with four ranked foes ahead

The first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2026 season landed this week and it lines up almost perfectly with what’s coming for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The poll shook up the national picture and it also confirmed just how tough the next stretch will be for Arkansas.

Four of the Razorbacks’ next five opponents made the new rankings. That run starts Saturday when Arkansas heads to Salt Lake City to face No. 20 Utah.

Michigan took the biggest hit in this week’s poll. The Wolverines needed a wild last-second Hail Mary just to slip past Western Michigan and voters dropped them out of the rankings completely after the shaky win.

LSU moved the other direction. The Tigers routed Clemson 51-10 in Lane Kiffin’s first game as head coach and jumped up to No. 8. Ohio State held onto No. 1 and grabbed 46 first-place votes out of a possible 69 from this week’s group of media voters.

Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana each climbed a spot too. Oregon slid from No. 2 to No. 6 even after beating Boise State by 25 and a half points as the favorite.

None of that national shuffle changes what’s waiting on Arkansas. The schedule was already one of the toughest in the country and now the hard part has arrived.

Utah opens a stretch that doesn’t let up

Ryan Silverfield’s first team as Hogs head coach beat North Alabama 31-14 to open the season in Fayetteville. That win won’t carry much weight this weekend against a ranked Utah squad on the road.

Saturday’s game is also new ground. Arkansas and Utah have never met on a football field before this trip.

After Utah the schedule doesn’t ease up. Georgia visits Fayetteville the following week at No. 2. Tulsa comes to town after that as the only unranked team in the run.

Then the Razorbacks hit the road again for Texas A&M at No. 10 before Tennessee arrives at No. 18.

That’s four ranked opponents across five games with only Tulsa breaking up the stretch. Three of those four teams sit inside the top 10 or close enough to it.

Arkansas fans knew this season would test the program early. A first-year coach walking straight into this kind of slate isn’t something that happens by accident.

A schedule built to test Arkansas early

The Southeastern Conference placed nine teams in the new poll and Arkansas will see four ranked teams from that group of contenders inside a five-game window if you count Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee alongside a strong Utah team from the Big 12.

Georgia’s move up to No. 2 puts the Bulldogs right behind Ohio State heading into a game that will challenge Silverfield’s group in just its third week of the season.

Texas A&M held its spot at No. 10 while Tennessee climbed into the poll at No. 18. Both give the Razorbacks another chance at a meaningful early win if Arkansas can find its footing on the road in Salt Lake City first.

Nobody signs up for a September like this without knowing what it means. The Hogs wanted a hard slate and now they’ll find out fast what this team is made of.

AP Top 25 poll

• Ohio State
• Georgia
• Notre Dame
• Texas
• Indiana
• Oregon
• Miami
• LSU
• Ole Miss
• Texas A&M
• Oklahoma
• Alabama
• Texas Tech
• USC
• BYU
• Penn State
• SMU
• Tennessee
• Washington
• Utah
• Iowa
• Houston
• Missouri
• Louisville
• Virginia