Tennessee stunned by Arkansas, loses 19-14
The Tennessee Volunteers entered Week 6 with an opportunity to solidify their place at the top of the SEC.
This was especially the case after Missouri and Alabama suffered embarrassing losses earlier in the day. But, of course, the Vols failed to take advantage.
The Vols went in to Fayetteville and put out a stinker of a performance. It was an ugly game throughout, and the Vols could never get it together enough to pull away. This culminated in a stunning 19-14 loss for the Vols.
Unfortunately, road losses are nothing new for the Vols under Josh Heupel. Every year of Heupel’s tenure, the Vols have lost a road game they shouldn’t have. Fans hoped these woes were a thing of the past after the Vols won in Norman, but clearly, the issues are still there.
Other than coaching/playcalling, the most disappointing part of this game was the offensive line. Somehow, this Vols’ offensive line got manhandled by the Arkansas defense for much of the game. The Razorbacks racked up 4 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Offensive line depth was many’s biggest concern heading into this season and clearly those concerns were valid.
Speaking of coaching/playcalling, Josh Heupel was atrocious. It looked like the 2023 offense with Joe Milton again. Wide receiver screens for minimal gain, running on 3rd & long, and missing deep shots all night. It was horrendous to watch, and it’s easy to question the gameplanning going into this game off of a bye week.
Look, games like this happen in the SEC. You can’t sleepwalk any games in this conference, as Alabama proved on Saturday. If this loss happened after the Florida game, it would be understandable. However, taking this loss OF A BYE is inexcusable for this coaching staff.
This isn’t the end of the world, but it makes your margins that much slimmer. Now, the Vols are going to have to beat Alabama or Georgia and win the remainder of their games in all likelihood if they plan on making the College Football Playoff. If you beat Arkansas, you can lose to Alabama and Georgia and likely still make the Playoff . That option is no longer on the table becuase you couldn’t beat a mediocre team on the road.