Arkansas put together a game-winning drive without its starting quarterback and running back.
The Razorbacks upset No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 thanks to an 11-yard TD by QB Malachi Singleton with 1:17 to go. As Arkansas was draining the clock to score as late as possible, Tennessee appeared to let Singleton walk into the end zone.
Singleton’s run came after Braylen Russell powered the Razorbacks on the ground. Russell was in for starting RB Ja’Quinden Jackson, who left the game in the second half. Singleton, Arkansas’ backup QB, was playing after starting QB Taylen Green had to leave the game in the second half after appearing to suffer a knee injury when he was hit low while completing a pass.
Tennessee had plenty of time for a game-winning TD after Singleton scored and got to the Arkansas 25-yard line on a deep pass. But Tennessee didn’t get much further from there. Nico Iamaleava was pushed from the pocket on fourth down and ran out of bounds as time expired after he crossed the line of scrimmage.
Arkansas holds Tennessee in check
Tennessee entered the game averaging more than 565 yards of offense per game. The Volunteers didn’t come close to that on Saturday night.
Arkansas’ defense played its best game of the season as the Vols had just 332 yards of total offense. UT didn’t score at all in the first half and its only two scores came on TD runs by Dylan Sampson.
Iamaleava had his worst game of the season and his Heisman candidacy took a huge hit. The redshirt freshman was 17-of-29 passing for 158 yards. He barely averaged more yards per pass (5.4) than Tennessee averaged per carry as a team (4.8).
Razorbacks didn’t turn the ball over
Arkansas had been plagued by turnovers throughout the first five games of the season. Turnovers played a key role in both of the Razorbacks’ losses to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Saturday night, Arkansas didn’t turn the ball over at all.
Coach Sam Pittman said after the game that he knew his team could hang with the Volunteers if it didn’t turn the ball over. Green was 19-of-27 passing for 266 yards before he left the game. Jackson had 20 carries for 57 yards and a TD, while Russell was fantastic in relief. The 253-pound freshman had eight carries for 62 yards after entering the game with 16 carries for 62 yards in Arkansas’ first four games of the season.
The SEC is a gauntlet
Texas was off in Week 6 and is now the only undefeated team in the conference after the Volunteers’ loss to the Razorbacks, No. 1 Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt and No. 9 Missouri’s loss at Texas A&M.
Just three teams are also undefeated in conference play. A&M is atop the conference at 3-0, while Texas and LSU are each at 1-0. Everyone else has at least one loss, while four teams have two losses or more. The expanded SEC is the toughest conference in the country from top to bottom and it’s hard to envision any of the three teams without a loss getting through the entire season unscathed.