Arkansas marched 60 yards down the field with a backup quarterback in Malachi Singleton for what would be a game-winning touchdown to go up 19-14 with just over a minute left. Nico Iamaleava, with a chance to win it at the end, ran for a first down and was tackled as time expired, giving the Hogs a huge upset over Tennessee Football.
Josh Heupel was held scoreless in the first half for the first time in his career as a head coach, but the Vols, ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, scored back to back touchdowns on their first two drives of the second half to take a 14-3 lead, both touchdown runs by Dylan Sampson. The Hogs wouldn’t go away, though.
After the second Tennessee Football touchdown, Taylen Green led the Hogs on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on their own. Arkansas then forced a punt and moved the ball again before Green went down with an injury just as Sam Pittman’s team got into the red zone. Two bad snaps resulted in a field goal on that drive.
Rocky Top then punted on each of its next three drives, and Arkansas punted twice in between them before that final drive. Singleton ran the ball into the end zone for the go-ahead score in a play where the Vols seemed to purposely let him score so they would have time at the end.
On the final drive, Iamaleava found Dont’e Thornton for a deep pass to set the Vols up inside the red zone. However, he bobbled a snap two plays later and then had that desperation scramble on the final play of the game, which gave Arkansas its first home win over a top five team since beating UT in 1999.
Iamaleava finished the game 16-of-28 for 156 yards while rushing for 17 yards but no touchdowns. Sampson was the star of the offense with 22 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. On Arkansas, Green was 19-of-27 for 266 yards, and Singleton was 2-of-3 for 31 yards.
The Hogs led the game 3-0 at halftime. With the win, Arkansas improves to 4-2 on the year and has a bye before they host the LSU Tigers. Tennessee Football, meanwhile, will host the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide over the next two weeks.
