The Arkansas Razorbacks put a slight dent in Tennessee’s College Football Playoff positioning last season, so coach Josh Heupel’s No. 12 Volunteers will try to avoid a repeat of that game on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.
Holding a 13-7 all-time series edge, the Volunteers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will meet up with the new-look Razorbacks (2-3, 0-1) who have won the last four matchups.
A two-touchdown home underdog last year, Arkansas dealt No. 4 Tennessee its first setback, 19-14.
As the conference continues a superb 2025 — eight of the AP Top 25’s top 14 currently ranked schools are SEC ones — Tennessee will look to rebound from that disappointing loss in what was a 10-3 season, ending with a crushing first-round CFP exit to eventual national champ Ohio State.
The Arkansas defeat helped force Tennessee to hit the road for an 8-9 matchup that the Buckeyes won easily, 42-17.
The Razorbacks started their bye week by firing sixth-year coach Sam Pittman, who was just 14-29 in conference play and embarrassed 56-13 by visiting Notre Dame in Week 5. They then promoted offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino on an interim basis.
Petrino, 64, went 34-17 from 2008 to 2011 with Arkansas, but he was dismissed in April 2012 for a scandal triggered by his lying about a motorcycle accident that involved him and a female assistant with whom he was having a relationship and giving cash to.
The OC-turned-HC said his defense will have to step up against Tennessee’s pass-slinging first-year quarterback Joey Aguilar, especially considering Petrino fired three defensive coaches on Day 1 at the helm.
“They’re a challenge, they’ve always been a challenge,” Petrino said. “They spread the field, but they want to run the ball. So the biggest challenge is, how do you defend the pass and stop the run?”
The Volunteers lead in nation in scoring (51 pts per game) and rank sixth in total offense (536.4 yards per game).
“I went into a lot of games where you thought, ‘Aw, man, this is going to be a shootout,’ and at halftime, it’s 10-9,” said Petrino, who has reduced game-week practice from four days to three and decided to move from the press box to the sidelines to run his offense. “Certainly, I feel like we’ve got to go in and be able to move the ball and score points.”
Heupel’s orange-clad defenders must slow down Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green, who leads the country with 367.8 total yards per game.
The 6-foot-6, 224-pound former Boise State standout has tossed 12 TDs and produced two 100-yard rushing games.
“You’ve got to play gap-sound and get off the blocks,” Heupel said Monday of containing the Lewisville, Texas, playmaker. “He’s dynamic. He’s got great long speed, and you’ve got to be able to tackle him. In the different structures we’re playing (up front defensively), our gap integrity is going to be important.”
Added Heupel: “Bobby’s done it at a really high level for a really long time. It’s a good football team … that may have been on the wrong side of the scoreboard a little bit.”
Heupel said All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy “continues to do a great job” in his recovery from ACL surgery, but will likely be unavailable.
–Field Level Media
