Arkansas upset No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 on Saturday night at home, marking the Razorbacks’ first top-five win since 2007 at No. 1 LSU.
Paired with No. 1 Alabama’s loss to unranked Vanderbilt earlier Saturday, it marked the first time since Nov. 12, 2016, that two AP top-five teams lost to unranked opponents on the same day (three lost that day — Michigan to Iowa, Clemson to Pitt, Washington to USC).
It’s also the first time two top-five SEC teams lost to unranked opponents on the same day.
Arkansas got the ball back with 3:20 to play, down 14-13, and suddenly moved down the field with ease, taking the lead when backup quarterback Malachi Singleton pounded into the end zone with 1:17 to play. The Razorbacks went for two, but the conversion attempt failed. Singleton entered the game in the fourth quarter after starter Taylen Green left with an apparent leg injury.
Tennessee still had a chance to rally. On a frustrating night for its passing game, quarterback Nico Iamaleava connected with Dont’e Thornton Jr. for 42 yards to the Arkansas 25. But a shot down the middle of the field was broken up by former Tennessee defensive back Doneiko Slaughter, bringing up fourth-and-5 with six seconds left from the 20. Iamaleava was shoved out of bounds as time expired.
Arkansas was coming off a loss to Texas A&M.
Arkansas, Pittman get a boost
What a huge lift for this program, which was picked to finish 14th in the SEC but is now 4-2 with a clear path to bowl eligibility and more. Sam Pittman, on the hottest of seats entering the season, gets the biggest win of his five-year tenure. So much of the goodwill he built early in his tenure was being competitive against good teams without finishing them off, and so much of the problem last year was not winning close games.
This time they finally did it, and got the visual of a field storming, which will bring a hefty SEC fine, but the school will happily write the check.
There’s also the way the Razorbacks pulled this off: rallying from a 14-3 deficit in the second half, and scoring the winning points with their backup quarterback. And while Bobby Petrino’s offense ultimately did its part, it was the defense that kept Tennessee’s vaunted offense in check, all the way to the final drive, to seal the upset.
“The AD’s going to be mad, or maybe he won’t be,” Pittman told ESPN after the game regarding the field storm. “I don’t know, right now I don’t care.”
Tennessee’s margin for error shrinks
In the expanded College Football Playoff era, this isn’t a season-ender. But it reduces the margin for error, and makes it fair to re-examine how the Volunteers burnished their early-season credentials.
The rout of NC State — now 3-3 after a home loss to Wake Forest — doesn’t look too impressive anymore. The win at Oklahoma looks better, though the Sooners are the most unimpressive 4-1 team in the country. And after looking like the best offense in the country the first three weeks, the Vols have now been held to 25 and 14 points the past two games. Iamaleava is a great talent but has some growing to do. The defense, meanwhile, let a team on its backup quarterback drive down for the go-ahead score in the final two minutes.
Next week’s home game against Florida should offer a chance for the Vols to get back on track. But then comes Alabama, suddenly a matchup between two teams fighting to avoid a second loss. That game was intriguing before this Saturday, and remains so for very different reasons.
(Photo: Nelson Chenault / Imagn Images)
