Vols' Gamble: Razorbacks Took Game-Winner When Offered

Heupel admits later they didn't resist much on goal line to get back back but Hogs' defense held

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during game with the Tennessee Volunteers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman wasn't turning down any gifts Saturday night when Tennessee offered. Considering the way things have gone the last couple of years, he was going to score if the Vols weren't interested in trying to stop them.

Razorbacks quarterback Malachi Singleton scored on an 11-yard run with 1:14 to play in what proved to be the game-winner in a 19-14 win that sent a raucous Razorback Stadium crowd into a frenzy. It couldn't have been that surprising to anyone.

Pittman probably figured out Tennessee wanted the ball back for one final shot. Bobby Petrino wasn't going to argue the point, either. Anything can happen and we've seen most of it with the Hogs for a few decades now.

"With the clock and timeout situation, we had to try to give ourselves a chance to go and score," Vols coach Josh Heupel said later.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Malachi Singleton (3) rushes for touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Pittman didn't address it after the game. Part of it was the potential for disaster. More likely was the confidence he had in the defense that executed Travis Williams' plan about as well as could have been done.

Combine that with Petrino obviously wanting to control the game running the ball and short passes to just move the sticks (along with the clock) it proved to be a deadly combination to Tennessee. Their fast-starting offense didn't even get on the field a single time until over half of the first quarter was gone.

"We ran something that they had not seen us run, first of all," Pittman said about Williams' defensive plan he started developing last Sunday night. "Second of all, we ran it real well."

What the Hogs did was go with a 3-2-6 alignment that looked more like a 3-8 at times. The Vols struggled with the look and never quite figured out what to do with it except for a couple of touchdowns quickly in the third quarter.

Arkansas had the plan. The players made it work.

"We weren’t going to let them get behind us if we could help it," Pittman said. "We were really worried about stopping the run but we always had the edge covered. We were bringing corners off a read run and we were bringing the field linebacker off the read run, and we mixed it up so we had a little bit of an odd front and then a little bit of a four-man and mixed it up. We brought total zero blitz."

Arkansas Razorbacks Doneiko Slaughter moves in to make a tackle against the Tennessee Voluteers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

Williams' scheme worked. Tennessee likely wanted to get man-on-man on both sides of the ball, particularly in the trenches. Arkansas created chaos by not doing that and playing zone on the back end, taking away the home-run ball the Vols like to use.

It's a philosophy that's worked for the Razorbacks before. It's what the Hogs used in the Big Shootout in 1969 to stymie the Texas Wishbone that was still relatively new at the time.

Teams figure it out. Hogs coach Frank Broyles figured he would try it again in 1970, but was warned by Barry Switzer, who was coaching Oklahoma's offense then, it woudn't work because they'd been doing some planning of their own. The Big Shootout II misfired and the Razorbacks were blown out.

Pittman is only dealing with the game this year that was probably specifically created for Tennessee's offense. They were blowing up scoreboards in their first four games and sitting at No. 4 in the country.

"Travis did a wonderful job of calling the defensive game, and more important, getting the kids to believe in what we were going to try to do," Pittman said.

That last part gets lost a lot. Coaches can draw it up, but they can't go play a down. The players carried it to the end when the Vols drove down the field, battling the clock and the Hogs' defense. It was that zone pass coverage.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava hadn't consistently figured it out the entire game. On the last play, he couldn't find anyone open and ran out of bounds as the clock ran out.

That started a celebrating that probably hasn't died down completely statewide. That's fine. With a bye week, there's no reason to stop for a couple of extra days.

Next weekend, though, plans will start again. LSU will be rolling into town after playing Ole Miss who is back in the Top 10 of the latest poll.

Somebody will need a plan for that one, too.

HOGS FEED:

• Hogs' recruits reaction to 'stadium shaking' victory over Vols

• Two former Vols get taste sweet victory with Razorbacks

• Will win over Tennessee recapture magic Hogs lost in 2022?

• Fortune Reversal: Arkansas Finally Gives Fans Good Home Game

• Calipari, while great recruiter, also teacher at heart

• Razorbacks' bowl odds just went up considerably

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow HogsSI on X and Facebook