Tennessee win one for ages

By Jerry Meadows

FAYETTEVILLE — Before game day last Saturday, when Arkansas played Tennessee, the following interview took place.

The question was asked:

“What are Arkansas’ chances of beating Tennessee?”

The response by some nameless Arkansas fan was: “N one ! Just to be honest.”

Next: “Finish this statement for me, ah, Arkansas will upset Tennessee if…,?

The Answer: “If Tennessee doesn’t show up to the game!!!!”

Finally, “What are the chances that at some point in this season, Arkansas catches somebody by surprise?”

Answer: “I mean next to none. Because it is what this team does, and they have been doing it for a year-and-a-half now.”

The answer continued, but it became more incendiary toward Sam Pittman and his record in one-score games than the quality of our new coaches and the players that make up the 2024 Razorback team.

Listening to this interview, I had never heard of such faithlessness in the Razorbacks since the days of Chad Morris.

Were the Razorbacks this bad, or was this Deja Vu from the previous nightmare of back-to-back 2-10 seasons under Morris?

First, to some degree, it is understandable that it has been a long time since Arkansas was a good football team. Arkansas had become mediocre for over a decade, and many fans had begun to compare them to Vanderbilt. This reaction was just the boiling point in the frustration building up over the years.

However, the course corrections Coach Pittman made with his staff and players are now providing dividends in favor of the Razorbacks. The hiring of Bobby Petrino was the move that would silence some of the blowback from a disappointing 2023 season. Still, how could any fan utter such doubt that could affect the players?

So, I decided to go to the stadium early and arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon. I wanted to get a feel of the mindset of the fans. I listened for two and a half hours from all kinds of fans. There were young fans, old fans, married and single, groups, and families from many different backgrounds. There had to be over 1000 fans that passed by. There was one common denominator among them all: excitement! I heard: Go Hogs, Beat Tennessee! Several stopped to explain why they felt good about Arkansas’ chances of beating Tennessee. I was pleasantly surprised by all the enthusiasm. People were smiling even though they knew the caliber of the team the Razorbacks were about to face was No. 4 in the nation. I did not hear a single phrase that remotely resembled the answers from our previous nameless fan. Not one.

Apparently, for some, the facts got lost in the emotions of what had been instead of what kind of team everyone had seen for the past five weeks. It had been no secret that Coach Pittman’s job was on the “hot seat” at the beginning of the season by most analysts. But did any of these national analysts come to the open practices last spring to observe the new additions to the football team? No. They kept reminding everyone that Arkansas was in the SEC and most SEC teams had upgraded their rosters from the portal. So, for Arkansas and Pittman, all would be lost because last year’s team played like a house divided.

From around the country, sports commentators were comparing the 2024 team from Arkansas to the previous team in 2023. Regardless of the facts, Arkansas made serious upgrades in every category except on the DL. Pittman adding 40 new scholarship players to the roster meant nothing. Ridiculous predictions of another year of 3 to 4 win season were all the Razorbacks could hope for in 2024. With Coach Petrino as the OC and the band of brothers already assembled on the defensive staff by Travis Williams, some in the media did not recognize how good the Razorbacks were. Soon, predictions on the internet suggested that Pittman would be fired by Halloween and replaced by Petrino. Apparently, for some, they could hardly wait until Pittman failed.

However, did anyone take into consideration what Pittman accomplished in the off-season?

Retaining Morgan Turner as TE coach and adding first-year coaches Bobby Petrino OC, Ronnie Fouch as wide receivers coach, Eric Mateos as OL coach, and Kolby Smith as running backs coach would create a new look on the offensive side of the ball for 2024. Likewise, it seemed that the defensive staff had Coach Pittman’s back because none of the defensive staff would leave for greener pastures. They believed in what they were building, and apparently, they wanted to see it completed. Travis William, DC Marcus Woodson, co-DC, Deke Adams, DL coach, and Deron Wilson, secondary coach, had already led a defense squad that held opponents to over 100 yards less in total offense/game in 2023 compared to 2022.

The one glaring statistic staring back at the SEC was how well the Arkansas defense had performed in the last two weeks. The league would also learn that Texas A&M is better than some anticipated. A&M came into their game with Arkansas averaging 397 yards of offense per game. The Razorback defense held them to 279 yards. In the Tennessee game, the Volunteers were averaging 565 yards per game. The Razorbacks held them to 332 yards.

Then, in the fourth quarter, with 14:15 remaining in the game, QB Taylen Green got hit low after his pass to Andrew Armstrong and was unable to return to the game. Arkansas would now be put in the position to finish the game without their starting quarterback, running back, and field goal kicker and being behind by four points. Arkansas was now facing the most adversity since the beginning of the season. Would this be the team fans had become accustomed to watching, or was something marvelous about to happen?

After the penalty for roughing the passer, Arkansas had first and goal at the 8-yard line. Three high snaps left Arkansas with fourth and five on the 5-yard line. This situation needed the first backup, kicker Matthew Shipley #36, to kick a 23-yard field goal. It was good, and now the score was 14-13 Tennessee. Still, Arkansas found itself behind the eight-ball against a vaunted Tennessee defense, having everything to fight for. After Arkansas got the ball back, there was 5:36 left in the game. Arkansas had a 3-and-out, and with 4:18 remaining on the clock, Devin Bale, standing on his goal line, kicked a 66-yard punt that rolled to the Tennessee 20-yard line. This kick will prove pivotable in the field position Arkansas will have to start their next drive. There was 4:06 remaining when Tennessee got the ball. Tennessee could have run the ball and burned another 90 seconds off the clock. They chose to pass instead, but Arkansas would shut them down.

Tennessee punts the ball back to the Arkansas 35-yard line, and Isaiah Sategna returns it to the Arkansas 41-yard line now with only 3:20 left in the game. Previously, Malachi Singleton had looked nervous as several times he had difficulty in handling the snap. But it was now do-or-die. On the sidelines, QB Taylen Green encouraged the offense to: “Finish it!” On first down, Singleton hits Sategna for 13 yards to the Tennessee 46-yard line. Then backup RB Braylen Russell busts outside for 24 yards to the Tennessee 22-yard line. At the 2:00 warning, Singleton hands the ball to Russell again and gains 11 more yards to the Tennessee 11. On the next play, Singleton options to run outside then cuts back to the middle for the final TD. But there was still 1:17 on the clock. That was plenty of time for a Tennessee team averaging 54 points a game to score. Although it got dicey at the end, the defense again would rise to preserve the victory.

I am glad the players were not expecting to lose as some who had no faith in this team or the coaches. I predicted Arkansas would beat Tennessee after I listened to the interviews from several players. You see, for the players, beating Tennessee did not surprise them. They believed they would win.

Now Arkansas has a bye week, and hopefully, it will give them time for some key players to recover.

Next up in two weeks is LSU at 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 19th, in Razorback Stadium on ESPN.

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