Rhett Lashlee reopens old Arkansas wounds with latest Razorback comments

Breaking news: Rhett Lashlee probably isn't coaching in Fayetteville anytime soon.

The record-breaking Shiloh Christian quarterback may have walked on for the Arkansas Razorbacks back in the early 2000s, but after nearly 25 years of near-misses with the Hogs, Lashlee's latest comments have once again placed him at odds with the Arkansas fanbase.

The current head coach of the SMU Mustangs recently chimed in on the Arkansas football team, challenging the idea that the Hogs have the toughest schedule in the country this season.

SMU's Rhett Lashlee challenges Arkansas' toughest-schedule label

In a recent appearance on the Andy & Ari On3 podcast, Rhett Lashlee decided to speak about his alma mater, offering his take on the Razorbacks' strength of schedule:

"No offense to Arkansas, they can't have the hardest strength of schedule in America to start the season because no one's played a game. We don't even know who's good, so we don't know what a good and an easy schedule is right now."

Perhaps Rhett Lashlee was simply offering his thoughts on the way that college football schedules are ranked according to a flawed methodology; after all, that's a legitimate perspective shared by a fair amount of football pundits. However, like Ricky Bobby's use of "With all due respect" in Talladega Nights, prefacing a statement with "No offense to Arkansas" doesn't mean Lashlee's comments aren't going to immediately rub Razorback fans the wrong way.

Arkansas has struggled to pull itself out of the basement of the SEC for the last decade, and a major reason for that is its brutal yearly schedule, which regularly ranks as one of the toughest in the country. This season is no exception, with ESPN's Football Power Index currently ranking Arkansas' 2026 schedule as the most difficult in college football. For Lashlee to use the Razorbacks -- who suffer more from scheduling than almost any team in the country -- as an example to prove a point about scheduling feels in poor taste.

It obviously doesn't help that Rhett Lashlee has a complicated history with the Razorbacks. The former Hogs walk-on broke a long list of passing records under Gus Malzahn at Shiloh Christian, but he never got any significant playing time in Fayetteville thanks to Matt Jones, only attempting a single pass during his time on the Hill (which resulted in an incompletion).

Lashlee later returned to Arkansas as a graduate assistant in 2006, working alongside Malzahn as the Razorbacks finished 10-4 and won the SEC West. However, that season became engulfed by the Houston Nutt–Malzahn–Springdale Five saga, ending Lashlee's only coaching stint in Fayetteville after one year. From there, Lashlee eventually reunited with Malzahn at Auburn, where the Tigers went 4-1 against Arkansas while Lashlee was on staff.

The two sides nearly reunited again in 2019. Lashlee was reportedly a top candidate to become Sam Pittman's first offensive coordinator, but Arkansas ultimately hired Kendal Briles. In 2025, Lashlee's performance as Miami's OC and SMU's HC made him one of the most prominent candidates to replace Sam Pittman, but he publicly distanced himself from the speculation before signing a lucrative extension with SMU.

Now, Rhett Lashlee is one step closer to becoming one of the most polarizing former Razorback coaches in recent memory. Regardless of his thoughts on Arkansas' schedule, Ryan Silverfield's focus will need to be razor-sharp as he prepares for one of the most difficult schedules in college football -- and, perhaps, a fun matchup with Lashlee in the coming seasons.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow