Arkansas (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will have to do something it hasn't done since 1999 if it pulls off an upset over No. 4 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) on Saturday evening at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
The last time the Razorbacks defeated a top-five team at home was when they beat then-No. 3 Tennessee, 28-24, on Nov. 13, 1999. Fresh off a tough 21-17 loss to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Razorbacks could use a big upset over the Volunteers to jolt the fanbase with excitement again.
"Tennessee is a really good team," Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said Monday. "Top of the nation in a lot of categories. Both offensively and defensively. I think defensively they’re very, very stout up front. Have a really good secondary, linebackers.
"I think kind of a common theme over the last couple of weeks that their defensive line is probably the strength of their defense as well as what A&M’s was, what Auburn’s was. So that’ll be a big challenge for us."
Tennessee is coming off a bye week following a 25-15 win at Oklahoma the week before. The Volunteers rank first in the nation in scoring offense and second in total offense through five games this season.
"Just a really good football team," Pittman said. "But we’re excited to play the No. 4 football team in the country, and they may be higher than that. They’re the best team that we will have played thus far. We’re excited about it and excited to be home in front of our crowd."
The Volunteers feature two former five stars listed as starters, including quarterback Nico Iamaleava. At the same time, Tennessee has two projected starters — tackle Dayne Davis and safety Will Brooks — that began their careers as walk-ons.
Arkansas has graded out better than the Vols in four of the six main offensive categories on Pro Football Focus, which is a football analytics website that provides grades for each individual player and full teams after analyzing each game for all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. Grades are given from 0-100, with the higher the grade signifying better performance.
Here's a look at how both teams stack up based on stats from this year and high school star ratings:
Season Stats - Tennessee | Arkansas (FBS rank out of 134 teams)
Offense
Tennessee || Arkansas
Scoring: 54.0 (1st) | 35.8 (33rd)
Total yards: 568.5 (2nd) | 495.0 (13th)
Passing: 275.8 (33rd) | 283.0 (27th)
Rushing: 290.0 (4th) | 212.0 (21st)
Third downs: 49.2% (22nd) | 55.4% (5th)
Sacks allowed/game: 1.5 (57th) | 2.4 (92nd)
Turnovers: 5 (t-42nd) | 9 (t-111th)
Defense
Tennessee || Arkansas
Scoring: 7.0 (2nd) | 20.2 (46th)
Total yards: 176.0 (1st) | 319.4 (47th)
Passing: 125.3 (4th) | 226.4 (89th)
Rushing: 50.8 (2nd) | 93.0 (21st)
Third downs: 17.0% (1st) | 30.8% (25th)
Sacks/game: 1.8 (89th) | 2.0 (60th)
Turnovers forced: 7 (t-42nd) | 7 (t-42nd)
Star Comparison (using Rivals ratings)
Star Comparison - Tennessee vs Arkansas| Tennessee | Stars | Arkansas | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Nico Iamaleava | 5 | QB Taylen Green | 2 |
| RB Dylan Sampson | 3 | RB Ja'Quinden Jackson | 4 |
| TE Miles Kitselman | 3 | TE Luke Hasz | 4 |
| WR Bru McCoy | 5 | WR Andrew Armstrong | 2 |
| WR Squirrel White | 3 | WR Tyrone Broden | 2 |
| WR Chris Brazzell II | 3 | WR Isaiah Sategna | 4 |
| LT Dayne Davis | NR | LT Fernando Carmona Jr. | 2 |
| LG Andrej Karic | 4 | LG E'Marion Harris | 4 |
| C Cooper Mays | 4 | C Addison Nichols | 4 |
| RG Javontez Spraggins | 3 | RG Joshua Braun | 4 |
| RT John Campbell Jr. | 4 | RT Keyshawn Blackstock | 4 |
| DE James Pearce Jr. | 4 | DE Landon Jackson | 4 |
| DT Bryson Eason | 4 | DT Eric Gregory | 4 |
| DT Elijah Simmons | 3 | DT Cam Ball | 3 |
| DE Dominic Bailey | 4 | DE Nico Davillier | 4 |
| LB Keenan Pili | 3 | LB Brad Spence | 3 |
| LB Arion Carter | 4 | LB Xavian Sorey Jr. | 4 |
| STAR Christian Harrison | 3 | HOG Doneiko Slaughter | 4 |
| S Will Brooks | NR | S Jayden Johnson | 3 |
| S Andre Turrentine | 4 | S TJ Metcalf | 4 |
| CB Jermod McCoy | 2 | CB Jaheim Singletary | 5 |
| CB Rickey Gibson III | 4 | CB Marquise Robinson | 2 |
NR - Not rated
Pro Football Focus Comparison (using season grades)
Team Grades (Tennessee | Arkansas)
Overall: 95.3 | 87.9
Offense: 78.9 | 80.8
Passing: 76.4 | 78.2
Rushing: 83.3 | 88.8
Receiving: 78.3 | 71.2
Pass blocking: 73.6 | 64.2
Run blocking: 57.3 | 69.5
Defense: 92.0 | 71.9
Run defense: 93.6 | 82.3
Tackling: 75.0 | 55.4
Pass rush: 81.8 | 63.1
Coverage: 89.4 | 61.8
Special teams: 85.9 | 77.2
PFF Comparison - Tennessee vs. Arkansas
| Tennessee | PFF Grades (Snaps) | Arkansas | PFF Grades (Snaps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Nico Iamaleava | 68.6 (231) | QB Taylen Green | 83.6 (360) |
| RB Dylan Sampson | 88.1 (153) | RB Ja'Quinden Jackson | 83.4 (238) |
| TE Miles Kitselman | 74.1 (144) | TE Luke Hasz | 64.7 (220) |
| WR Bru McCoy | 69.2 (176) | WR Andrew Armstrong | 80.6 (261) |
| WR Squirrel White | 62.1 (134) | WR Tyrone Broden | 52.5 (307) |
| WR Chris Brazzell II | 64.7 (154) | WR Isaiah Sategna | 71.0 (241) |
| LT Dayne Davis | 54.2 (172) | LT Fernando Carmona Jr. | 68.7 (370) |
| LG Andrej Karic | 66.2 (193) | LG E'Marion Harris | 59.0 (382) |
| C Cooper Mays | 69.9 (231) | C Addison Nichols | 63.4 (304) |
| RG Javontez Spraggins | 59.2 (216) | RG Joshua Braun | 72.6 (369) |
| RT John Campbell Jr. | 56.9 (125) | RT Keyshawn Blackstock | 60.3 (369) |
| DE James Pearce Jr. | 69.4 (107) | DE Landon Jackson | 77.7 (263) |
| DT Bryson Eason | 65.4 (85) | DT Eric Gregory | 71.4 (215) |
| DT Elijah Simmons | 74.7 (58) | DT Cam Ball | 59.8 (206) |
| DE Dominic Bailey | 65.0 (107) | DE Nico Davillier | 65.1 (207) |
| LB Keenan Pili | 68.3 (118) | LB Brad Spence | 59.9 (146) |
| LB Arion Carter | 64.0 (131) | LB Xavian Sorey Jr. | 66.7 (222) |
| STAR Christian Harrison | 58.6 (114) | HOG Doneiko Slaughter | 55.0 (262) |
| CB Jermod McCoy | 87.0 (158) | CB Jaheim Singletary | 47.1 (217) |
| CB Rickey Gibson III | 69.2 (120) | S Jayden Johnson | 68.7 (264) |
| S Andre Turrentine | 62.2 (137) | S TJ Metcalf | 73.9 (304) |
| S Will Brooks | 77.2 (133) | CB Marquise Robinson | 69.3 (210) |
