Arkansas surprised the fanbase by playing close on the road at the No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers but fell short of a late comeback, 34-31, on Saturday evening in Neyland Stadium. Even though there were a good number of things I disliked about how the Razorbacks lost this game, there was quite a bit that I was impressed with about the Hogs.
Arkansas football vs. Tennessee: 3 Things I Liked and Disliked
I liked how Arkansas played in the first half
Arkansas was rolling to start off the contest. The Razorbacks scored on three of their first four possessions and had the lead for a good chunk of the first half. QB Taylen Green was consistent with his accuracy, and the run game was tearing up the Tennessee defense.
On the first drive of the game, Arkansas was playing very gutsy by going for it on 4th & 1 at its own 34-yard line with 13:15 to go. Green ran a quarterback sneak for a gain of three yards to keep the drive going. Two plays later, RB Mike Washington Jr. blew out of the gate with a huge 38-yard run to put the Hogs on the Volunteer 14-yard line. After a three-yard run by Washington, Green finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to give Arkansas an early 7-0 lead with 10:10 left in the opening quarter.
With the game tied, 10-10, with eight minutes left in the second quarter, the Razorbacks were facing 3rd & 9 at the Tennessee 37. Green scampered out of the pocket for a 22-yard gain to keep the drive going. A few plays later, Washington ran the ball in for a touchdown to put the Razorbacks back in front, 17-10, with 4:36 left in the first half.
The Arkansas offense has continued to shine this season. They are not perfect, but the Razorbacks consistently put up big points in the first half.
However, the same cannot be said about the third quarter…
I disliked how Arkansas played in the third quarter
The third quarter put Arkansas in a huge hole for the rest of the game. Tennessee received the second-half kickoff and put up a field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 11:50 remaining.
After both teams traded punts, the Volunteers started their drive at their own 26-yard line with 3:50 left in the third quarter. QB Joey Aguilar first hit WR Mike Matthews for a seven-yard gain, and RB DeSean Bishop ran for a gain of seven of his own. Aguilar and Matthews connected again with a 27-yard bomb to the Arkansas 33, and Bishop ran for a huge 26-yard gain to the seven. RB Peyton Lewis ran for a gain of five and finished the drive with a touchdown to put Tennessee up by two possessions, 27-17, with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.
This quarter was a huge blow to the Hogs on both sides of the ball. The offense was not connecting throughout most of the quarter, and the defense was unable to keep up, despite forcing two punts. When the Razorbacks struggled, the Volunteers took advantage.
I liked Washington’s performance
Washington has continued to be a stud for the Razorbacks. He posted his second 100-yard game of the season with 131 rushing yards on 19 carries for an average of 6.9 yards per run and scored a touchdown. Washington’s score came with 4:36 left in the first half when he punched the ball in at the Tennessee one-yard line to give Arkansas a 17-10 lead. His longest run of the day was a 38-yard run with 11:25 left in the first quarter on the opening drive, as previously mentioned.
Washington is continuing to be an excellent running back for the Hogs this season. The New Mexico State transfer has 524 rushing yards on the year on 80 carries for an average of 6.55 yards per run with five touchdowns. He also has 105 receiving yards on eight catches with a score.
I disliked how the turnovers cost Arkansas some points
The Razorbacks turned over the ball three times, all of them being fumbles. Two of them stumped Arkansas from getting on the board, and one led to a score for Tennessee.
The first fumble came when the game was tied in the first quarter, 7-7. The Hogs picked up 15 yards on a hands-to-the-face penalty by the Volunteers that moved them up to their own 40-yard line. Washington then ran for a huge gain of 26 yards to put Arkansas in enemy territory at the Tennessee 34. The Razorbacks looked like they were smelling the end zone at any moment. On the next play, Green ran out of the pocket to the left side while being chased by DL Jordan Ross. Green was sacked by Ross and lost the football on the play. Ross recovered to stop Arkansas from retaking the lead. Even though the Volunteers went three-and-out, the Hogs missed a huge opportunity to cash in some points.
The second lost ball came early in the third quarter with the Hogs trailing by three, 20-17. The drive started out strong with Washington taking an 11-yard run to the Arkansas 36-yard line on the first play. The Razorbacks later converted on 3rd & 8 with Green completing a 24-yard pass to WR Kam Shanks. Washington followed up with a nine-yard run to put the Hogs on the Tennessee 29. The Razorbacks were in position to take the lead back when RB Braylen Russell ran for a 15-yard gain, but he lost the football at the 14, and it was recovered by LB Arion Carter. Again, the Volunteer offense went three-and-out after the defense caused the turnover.
The third fumble ultimately led to a score for Tennessee. Arkansas was down by 10, 27-17, going into the start of the fourth quarter. With 14:53 to go, the Hogs were facing 3rd and 31 at their own 15-yard line. Green lost the ball on the run, and it was recovered by LB Jadon Perlotte at the Razorback 19. The Volunteers reached the end zone on four plays to take a commanding 34-17 lead with a little over 13 minutes left in the game.
Not only did Arkansas miss out on two chances to score, but its third turnover led to a touchdown for Tennessee to put the game almost out of reach. The Razorbacks are desperately needing to work on avoiding turnovers and protecting the ball.
I liked how the Hogs kept themselves in the game
As previously mentioned, Arkansas was down by 17 early in the fourth quarter, with chances of getting back in the game seemingly improbable. Starting at their own 19-yard line, the Razorbacks started out with Green getting sacked for a loss of five. After completing a six-yard pass to TE Jaden Platt, Green connected with Blake for 18 yards to convert on 3rd & 9. The Hogs started piecing together some plays for decent yardage and found themselves on the Volunteer nine-yard line. Green completed the drive with a touchdown pass to TE Rohan Jones to cut the lead to 10, 34-24, with 8:17 remaining.
The Arkansas defense was able to force Tennessee to punt after a five-play, 3:26 drive. The Razorbacks took over on their own 20-yard line with 4:39 left in the game. The Hogs worked quickly, with Green completing a 30-yard pass to WR Raylen Sharpe to the 50. Green then hit WR CJ Brown for a 12-yard gain. After Green completed a six-yard pass to Sharpe, he connected with CJ Brown again for a big 20-yard gain to the Volunteer 12-yard line. One play later, Arkansas was in the end zone again when Green found Shanks for a touchdown to cut the deficit to three, 34-31, with 2:55 left in the game. However, it was the last time the Hogs had the ball on offense, as the defense was not able to stop the Tennessee offense.
It was good to see that this team did not give up and tried everything in their power to get back in the game. Even though they could not complete the comeback and were already in a big hole as it is, Arkansas was fighting every step of the way in the fourth quarter to try and sneak away with a victory. It is a big positive sign.
I disliked how the defense is continuing to struggle
I will admit, the Arkansas defense showed some improvement by forcing a three-and-out both times after the offense turned over the ball. However, the Hogs still allowed a total of 485 yards. The Tennessee run game trampled all over the Razorbacks with 264 rushing yards on 40 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per run. Arkansas was also unable to force a turnover the entire game.
The Razorbacks are still trying to adjust under their new defensive coaches just less than two weeks after the firings of Travis Williams, Deke Adams and Marcus Woodson, but are constantly allowing big chunk plays. This is probably going to be a recurring issue if things do not change as we go deeper into the season.
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