Arkansas comes back from an 11-point deficit to upset No. 4 Tennessee

Arkansas put together a game-winning drive without its starting quarterback and running back.

The Razorbacks beat No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 thanks to an 11-yard touchdown from QB Malachi Singleton with 1:17 left. As Arkansas was running out the clock to score as late as possible, Tennessee appeared to let Singleton run into the end zone.

Singleton’s run came after Braylen Russell threw the Razorbacks to the ground. Russell started RB Ja’Quinden Jackson, who left the game in the second half. Singleton, Arkansas’ backup QB, played in the starting lineup. QB Taylen Green had to leave the game in the second half after apparently suffering a knee injury when he was hit low while completing a pass.

Tennessee had plenty of time for a game-winning touchdown after Singleton scored and reached the Arkansas 25-yard line with a deep pass. But Tennessee didn’t get much further from there. Nico Iamaleava was forced out of the pocket on fourth down and ran out of bounds after crossing the line of scrimmage as time expired.

Arkansas keeps Tennessee at bay

Tennessee came into the game averaging more than 565 yards of offense per game. The Volunteers couldn’t come close to that on Saturday night.

Arkansas’ defense played its best game of the season as the Vols only had 332 yards of total offense. UT didn’t score at all in the first half and its only two goals came on TD runs by Dylan Sampson.

Iamaleava had his worst game of the season and his Heisman candidacy suffered a major setback. The redshirt freshman completed 17 of 29 passes for 158 yards. He averaged barely more yards per pass (5.4) than Tennessee averaged per carry as a team (4.8).

Razorbacks didn’t turn the ball over

Arkansas had been plagued by turnovers in the first five games of the season. Turnovers played a key role in the Razorbacks’ two losses to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. On Saturday night, Arkansas didn’t turn the ball over at all.

Coach Sam Pittman said after the game that he knew his team could keep up with the Volunteers if they didn’t turn the ball over. Green completed 19 of 27 passes for 266 yards before leaving the game. Jackson had 20 carries for 57 yards and a TD, while Russell was fantastic in relief. The 253-pound freshman had eight carries for 62 yards after entering the game with 16 carries for 62 yards in Arkansas’ first four games of the season.

The SEC is a gauntlet

Texas was out in Week 6 and is now the conference’s only undefeated team following the Volunteers’ loss to the Razorbacks, No. 1 Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt and No. 9 Missouri’s loss at Texas A&M.

Even in conference play, only three teams are undefeated. A&M sits atop the conference at 3-0, while Texas and LSU are each 1-0. All others have at least one loss, while four teams have two or more losses. The expanded SEC is the toughest conference in the country from top to bottom, and it’s hard to imagine any of the three undefeated teams making it through the entire season unscathed.