FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas trailed by seven with about a minute and a half left Saturday night.
It was fourth-and-10 at the Razorbacks’ own 25-yard line and the Razorbacks had three timeouts just sitting there.
Ryan Silverfield sent out the punt team. The home crowd told him what it thought. It wasn’t a compliment.
No. 15 Tennessee ran out the clock from there and left with a 24-17 win. As Silverfield pointed out later, the defense couldn’t get the stop needed even for a low-percentage chance.
That’s 14 straight SEC losses for Arkansas, which is now 2-4 overall and 0-3 in league play. Don’t look for things to get any easier the rest of the way.
The first-year coach didn’t dodge the question afterward. He said the numbers told him to kick.
Silverfield explains fourth-down punt
Silverfield put the odds of converting at “under 5% chance to get it” because of how his line was protecting late.
His plan was to punt, stop the run on three downs and get the ball back with a shot to tie.
He added that the Hogs would’ve gone for two and the win if they’d scored with less than 20 seconds left.
The plan needed a stop. It didn’t get one.
Gavin Rush’s kick died at the Vols’ 38. DeSean Bishop ran for 5 yards on second-and-4 and that was that.
The drive before the punt didn’t help the coach’s case. Quarterback KJ Jackson threw three incompletions in 19 seconds and one got knocked down at the line.
The part that’ll bother fans all the way through the offseason is Arkansas was good enough to win this one for a while. That was a change in this season.
Run game gives Hogs a lead
The Razorbacks came out of halftime down 7-0 and forced a quick three-and-out. Then they ran it five straight times for 70 yards.
As Silverfield said later, they found something they could make happen in the run game. The Vols were loading the defensive front but the Hogs found something.
Cam Settles broke one for 27. Jamari Hawkins took an end-around for 22. Braylen Russell covered the last 9 for the score.
Miguel Mitchell intercepted George MacIntyre three plays into the Vols’ next series.
The Hogs went 63 yards in 10 plays from there. Sutton Smith chipped in gains of 6, 9 and 12 before Jackson’s 4-yard throw to Jaden Platt.
It was 14-7. Arkansas hadn’t been ahead in a conference game all year until then.
Jackson ended the night 15 of 27 for 155 yards with that one touchdown pass.
The lead didn’t last.
Tennessee answers with big plays
Cooper Ranvier’s 49-yard kick trimmed the margin to 14-10 late in the third.
Russell then went 29 yards on third-and-1. A holding flag wiped it out and the Razorbacks had to give the ball back.
One snap later MacIntyre hit DaSaahn Brame for 68 yards. A missed tackle turned a nice gain into a long one.
Brame punched it in at the goal line soon after. The Vols led 17-14.
Max Gilbert’s 55-yard kick evened it at 17 with 7:20 on the clock. He used to play for Tennessee and he’d missed from 38 as the first half ended.
Shelton Lewis then picked off MacIntyre near midfield. The Hogs had the ball in a tie game with a chance to take control.
They ran for 3 yards on third-and-10 and punted with 4:08 to go. That’s when the booing started.
Bishop burst through the center of the line for 59 yards on the very next play. He was in the end zone four snaps after that with 1:57 showing.
Running back’s big night, what’s next for Arkansas
Bishop finished with 138 rushing yards.
MacIntyre was making his first college start. He passed for 247 yards with one score and two picks.
The first half is where Arkansas left points on the field. Jackson lost a fumble on a sack during the opening drive. Flags pushed another possession back to third-and-27.
Jackson said afterward that the Hogs had some big runs before halftime but kept hurting their own drives. He said that’s how they knew the ground game would work, and he gave credit to Coach Cramsey for the calls and to the offensive line for its blocking.
Vanderbilt is next. The Razorbacks play in Nashville next Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
They’ll take a long drought with them. Arkansas’ last win over a Power 4 team was the 2024 Liberty Bowl against Texas Tech.
This was a step up from the earlier SEC outings. That’s true.
It also doesn’t change the standings.
