Hogs' Defense Indeed Rocked Volunteers' Offense to Sleep

Razorbacks do enough in 19-14 win over No. 4 team, doing what they said they wanted to do during week

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) scrambles out of the pocket in the second quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks were tasked with slowing down Tennessee's high powered, up-tempo offense and did just that Saturday with a 19-14 victory.

"Yeah, we have to pretty much just slow them down," Arkansas linebacker Brad Spence said. "Stop one of [the run or pass] then put them to sleep."

Arkansas answered the call early with a dominant defensive showing in the first half holding a 3-0 halftime lead. The Volunteers had not been shutout in a first half of any game since 2019 and were limited to just 76 total yards.

Defensive tackle Eric Gregory was extremely active early on and finished with four tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack. Gregory had this to say about Tennessee's electric offense during Wednesday's press conference.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Cameron Ball (5) sacks Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during the second quarter at Razorback Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

"It’s huge, man, because any little thing can get you out of a game," Arkansas defensive tackle Eric Gregory said. "They get back to the ball pretty fast, so we have to make sure after we make a play or after the ball is down, we have to get back to the ball, look to the sideline and get our play so we can stay on our feet."

Arkansas was able to keep Tennessee from maintaining its momentum when the game seemed in peril when Tennessee scored a pair of touchdowns in less than four minutes during the third quarter. However, the Razorbacks' stymied the Volunteers into four consecutive punts which allowed them to crawl back into the game.

The Volunteers went into the night among the nation's best in nearly all offensive statistical categories including No. 1 in scoring (54 points per game), No. 4 rushing offense (290 yards per game) and No. 3 in total offense (586 yards per game).

25 years later and we're rushing the field AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/e0KaI6wL2u

— Hogs Plus (@HogsPlus) October 6, 2024

Tennessee only generated 332 yards of total offense, limited to only 14 points and slowed to only 176 rushing yards which were well below season averages.

"The defense ended up keeping us into it and ended up winning it for us," Pittman told ESPN after the game. "Travis Williams and the [defensive staff] had them ready to play. They played hard the entire night and we didn't turn the ball over. If we are the same with turnovers, we can beat anybody in the country and we proved that tonight."

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