The Good, Bad, And Ugly In Tennessee's Loss To Arkansas

Tennessee drops their first game of the season to Arkansas.

Oct 5, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Tennessee was upset on Saturday night against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Vols would lose the game by a score of 19-14 after giving up a late touchdown with 1:18 left on the clock. Nico Iamaleava would attempt to drive down the field and score but couldn’t finish the drive off as the Razorbacks won and stormed the field.

There are many ways to look into this game. The good, bad, and ugly. Here is a fair representation of each category.

The Good

The Tennessee defense was forced to face multiple 4th down attempts. They did a good job stopping Arkansas as they only allowed one conversion and stopped Arkansas twice on 4th and short. This Tennessee defense was gassed for the majority of the game as before the half concluded the Razorbacks were already over 20 minutes of time of possession. That is over 66% of the full half being on offense.

The Bad

The offense could never completely get it going. They did have one big play from Dylan Sampson which led to a touchdown afterward and the very next drive was another Sampson score. After that, the offense stalled out once again. Iamaleava and the passing game wasn’t as sharp as it has been and was a bit of a liability at times. This is something that will need to be cleaned up as the Vols move into their home game stretch that kicks off next week against the Florida Gators.

The Ugly

The injuries Tennessee had throughout the game are very concerning. The Vols lost Dont’e Thornton (Lower Body), Bru McCoy (Hand), Christian Harrison (Lower Body), Bryson Eason (Lower Body), and Squirrel White (Head) all during the second half. Thornton would return the last drive of the game which is a positive sign for Tennessee. McCoy would be limited following his injury and will likely not be a long-term injury. As for Eason and White, both injuries seem to be severe as neither would return to the game.

Tennessee will host the Florida Gators Saturday night as they return to Neyland Stadium and hope to get back on track.

Other Tennessee News:

• Tennessee Moves Into Top Five of AP Poll After Oklahoma Win
• Offensive Grade Report: Tennessee Vs Oklahoma
• Tennessee Defeats Oklahoma 25-15 On The Road
  

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