Max Gilbert Faces Former Tennessee Team With Arkansas

Arkansas will face a familiar opponent in No. 14 Tennessee when the Razorbacks host the Volunteers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas, during Week 6 of the 2026 college football season. The Saturday, October 10, matchup reunites Tennessee with former kicker Max Gilbert, who transferred to Arkansas after the 2025 season.

According to reports from Yahoo Sports and Vols Wire published October 10, Tennessee entered the game with a 4-1 overall record and a 1-1 mark in SEC play. Arkansas stood at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference. Kickoff was scheduled for 4:15 p.m. EDT, with the game airing on SEC Network.

Gilbert has made 7 of 9 field goal attempts and all 10 of his extra-point attempts in his first season with Arkansas, totaling 31 points. According to Rocky Top Insider, he is perfect on field goal attempts from inside 50 yards, converting all seven, while missing both attempts from 50 yards or farther.

The Memphis, Tennessee, native spent three seasons with the Volunteers from 2023 through 2025, appearing in 26 games. He converted 34 of 45 field goal attempts and all 118 extra-point attempts during his Tennessee career, according to Yahoo Sports.

Gilbert also discussed his former program in an interview with Hogs + earlier in 2026, expressing appreciation for his experience in Knoxville despite the difficult moments he encountered during his final season.

"I love it to death," said Gilbert when asked about Tennessee. "Knoxville is an unbelievable place. I'll never say anything bad about the staff or the people. It truly was an unbelievable opportunity to play for a program like that, and I'll always love Knoxville and that program."

Gilbert identified a 2024 home victory over Alabama as one of his favorite memories with Tennessee. He made a fourth-quarter field goal to give the Volunteers a seven-point advantage before defensive back Will Brooks intercepted Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on the following play, helping secure the win.

Recalling that sequence, Gilbert highlighted the field goal and the defensive play that followed.

"My (redshirt) freshman year we played Alabama at home," said Gilbert. "And I hit a field goal in the fourth quarter to put us up seven, and then we got an interception on the next play to ice the game — shout out Will Brooks. That was crazy. They stormed the field."

Gilbert's 2025 season included several costly misses. Rocky Top Insider reported that he missed a potential game-winning field goal in Tennessee's September loss to Georgia, a 37-yard attempt in a 33-27 defeat against Oklahoma, and a 39-yard attempt in a 30-28 loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl.

Despite those setbacks, Gilbert finished the 2025 season with 14 successful field goals on 19 attempts. His breakdown included 8 of 10 attempts from less than 40 yards, 4 of 6 from 40 to 50 yards, and 2 of 3 from beyond 50 yards. He had also converted 20 of 26 field goals during the 2024 season.

Tennessee turned to the transfer portal to replace Gilbert, bringing in former Louisville kicker Cooper Ranvier. According to Rocky Top Insider's October 6 report, Ranvier had made all five of his field goal attempts and all 22 extra-point attempts, with a longest successful field goal of 43 yards.

Gilbert, a senior for Arkansas, attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis and was rated a five-star prospect by Kohl's Kicking. During his senior season with the Lynx, he converted 45 of 46 extra-point attempts and made six field goals, according to Yahoo Sports.