The Arkansas Razorbacks (3-2, 1-1 SEC) are set to play the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Tennessee's most recent victory came at Oklahoma, 25-15, on Sept. 21, as the Volunteers were off last weekend and did not play game. Arkansas suffered its first conference defeat of the season in a 21-17 loss to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium last time out. The Hogs opened SEC play with a win at Auburn the week prior, while the Vols knocked off Oklahoma in a tough road environment.
Arkansas is a 14-point underdog against the Volunteers (BetSaracen). The two progams haven't faced off since 2020 in Fayetteville, when the Razorbacks won, 24-13.
Fourth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel will look to break up the Razorbacks' three-game winning streak in the series that dates back to 2011.
Here is how the HawgBeat staff is predicting Saturday's game, which will be broadcast on ABC:
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Mason Choate - Publisher
I'll keep this short and sweet. Arkansas has the roster to keep up with Tennessee and even knock the Volunteers off, but I don't think the Razorbacks have the ability to play at a high enough level for four quarters to do so.
At first, the point spread seemed a little low to me, but I could see a scenario in which the Razorbacks give the Vols a tough time. It's not a stretch to say this will be Tennessee's most challenging game so far this season.
Still, there's a reason that the Volunteers rank top-5 nationally in multiple offensive and defensive categories. Anything Arkansas is good at, Tennessee is likely better.
Tennessee 38, Arkansas 24
Riley McFerran - Managing Editor
Arkansas finally comes back home to the welcoming confines of Razorback Stadium to face...a top-five Tennessee team off a bye week. Gulp.
I'm not one to judge games on paper alone, but it's startling how bad of a matchup this is for the Razorbacks. And oh yeah, Sam Pittman's Arkansas teams have developed a weird tendancy to underperform at home recently. We all remember that far-too-close victory over UAB in Week 3, right?
This game comes down to a few things. Does Arkansas' offensive line prevent talents like James Pearce Jr. and Tyre Rest from forcing Taylen Green into bad throws? Can the Hogs' Jaylon Braxton-less secondary keep up with Nico Iamaleava? Finally, can Arkansas' red zone offense — which ranks 107th in the country — figure out how to get the job done in crunch time?
I love a good underdog story, but Arkansas' defense gets exposed against an explosive Josh Heupel offense, and Bobby Petrino fails to get the offense's wrinkles ironed out for the third week in a row.
Tennessee 38, Arkansas 17
Daniel Fair - Football Recruiting Analyst
It’s been 25 years since the Razorbacks defeated a top-5 team at home, and with that last win being against the Tennessee Volunteers, maybe there can be a little bit of magic to put the Hogs on top Saturday? I don’t think that happens, though.
Arkansas’ offensive line was exposed by Texas A&M a week ago, and Tennessee’s front seven is stronger, more athletic and deeper than the Aggies’, and as much big-play ability as Taylen Green has, I don’t think Arkansas is ready for the test.
On top of that, Tennessee’s offense is coming into this game firing on all cylinders, boasting an average of 54 points per game. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is a former five-star prospect and has shown this season exactly why, with a 69.2% completion rate and seven touchdowns to just two interceptions.
It should be a fun environment for fans, with a late kickoff and a stripe out, but the wheels start to fall off and the Hogs are on the losing end of a blowout.
Tennessee 45, Arkansas 10
Jackson Collier - Basketball Recruiting Analyst
After losing a second winnable game on the season to drop to 3-2 (1-1 SEC) the Razorbacks have a much more difficult path of earning bowl eligibility in a pivotal year for the Sam Pittman era. One way to to make the rest of the season's prospects more promising would be an upset victory at home over Tennessee.
The Volunteers have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Razorback defense has largely prevented explosive plays and limited teams as a whole, save for being put in short field situations after an offensive turnover and the occasional big play given up.
Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams has the blueprint to limit the Volunteer offense from their matchup against Oklahoma, when the Sooners limited the Tennessee offense to under 350 total yards and just 25 points.
On the other side of the ball, though, the Volunteers are also pretty stout defensively. The Arkansas offense will have to play a near perfect game to come out with a win, and that's after comments from Pittman about starting quarterback Taylen Green struggling with confidence lately.
I envision the Razorbacks being competitive early, maybe starting out with a defensive stop and a touchdown, but I don't think the offense is good enough to help the defense out early, and I also don't think the defense is deep enough to contain the vaunted Volunteer offense for a full game.
Tennessee 38, Arkansas 10
Kevin Bohannon - Baseball Recruiting Analyst
Believe it or not, the Hogs have won three straight over the Vols with the last win coming in 2020 at home. The 2024 version of the Vols is not that Covid era squad. This year’s Tennessee team looks more like the team that came here in 1999, which also ranked in the top-5 nationally. The Volunteers are fast and deep on the defensive side of the ball with a plethora of weapons on offense.
At the beginning of the year, I thought this Razorback team was good enough to be competitive in every game. Texas A&M exposed the offense last week and Tennessee will capitalize and attack early and often. The home crowd could play a difference early with the Vols pulling away late.
Tennessee 34, Arkansas 17
RECORDS (Overall, Against the Spread)
Mason Choate: 3-2 overall, 2-3 ATS
Riley McFerran: 3-2 overall, 3-2 ATS
Daniel Fair: 3-2 overall, 2-3 ATS
Jackson Collier: 3-2 overall, 3-2 ATS
Kevin Bohannon: 4-1 overall, 3-2 ATS
