George MacIntyre’s first start gave Tennessee just enough, and DeSean Bishop supplied the late hammer.
MacIntyre threw for 247 yards and a touchdown, Bishop rushed for 138 yards, and No. 15 Tennessee used a fourth-quarter push to edge Arkansas 24-17 on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Volunteers were in a tight spot with 4:07 left, tied at 17 and backed up inside their own 10 after an Arkansas punt. Bishop then ripped off a 59-yard run that flipped the field and set up the go-ahead drive.
Four plays later, he finished it himself from 8 yards out, putting Tennessee ahead for good. Tennessee’s defense then handled the rest, forcing Arkansas into a three-and-out as the Razorbacks chose to punt with 1:36 remaining and still down seven.
MacIntyre, a sophomore, got the nod with usual starter Faizon Brandon sidelined by a troubling shoulder injury. It was his first career start, and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel liked what he saw when the game tightened.
“I thought he did a really good job in some of the adverse situations of just playing the next play and pulling the trigger,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “It was a winning performance by him, ultimately.”
His biggest throws came in the fourth quarter. On the first play of Tennessee’s opening drive of the period, MacIntyre hit DeSaahn Brame down the seam for 68 yards to the Arkansas 6. Three plays later, Brame - listed as a wide receiver - took his first carry of the season and punched it in from a yard out to give Tennessee a three-point lead.
Arkansas answered after putting together back-to-back touchdown drives to open the second half, which gave the Razorbacks their first SEC lead of the season. Max Bryant then drilled a 55-yard field goal with 7:20 left to tie it again at 17.
MacIntyre finished 18 of 29 with the touchdown and two interceptions. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson went 15 of 27 for 155 yards and a touchdown.
Heupel wasn’t ready to say who starts next week.
“With what (Brandon) was dealing with, he really didn’t rep during the course of the week. George knew on Monday he was going to start this week. We’ll continue to play it by ear as we keep going,” he said.
Arkansas fell to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference, extending its SEC losing streak to 14 games. The Razorbacks were better than they had been in their first two conference games of the Ryan Silverfield era, but the result still left them empty-handed.
Tennessee, meanwhile, won without looking especially clean for long stretches. Outside of a couple of explosive passing plays, the Volunteers never fully settled in, and that’s a concern with No. 6 Alabama coming to town next Saturday.
Tennessee: At No. 6 Alabama on Saturday.
In Other News...
Arkansas Fans Are Fuming Over Ryan Silverfields Late-Game Surrender
Ryan Silverfields decision late against Tennessee did little to ease the frustration around Arkansas football. Trailing in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks had a chance to keep pressing, but Silverfield chose to punt with 1:45 left rather than gamble on fourth-and-10, a call that underscored just how tight the margin felt in a game Arkansas ultimately lost 24-17.
The choice landed hard because the Razorbacks are already carrying a heavy burden in SEC play, with the defeat extending their conference losing streak to 14 games. Silverfield defended the move by pointing to the low odds of converting the fourth down and then finding a way to score again and recover an onside kick, but for a fan base desperate for a spark, the conservative finish only added to the unease. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Blew A Winnable Tennessee Game In One Painful Way
Arkansas had enough going for it in Knoxville to make the result sting even more. The running game held up, the defense did its part by forcing turnovers and generally making Tennessee work, and for long stretches the Razorbacks had the shape of a team capable of hanging around in a tough road game. But the offense never found enough stability at quarterback to turn those possessions into sustained pressure, and that left Arkansas leaning on everything else to keep pace.
The turning point came late, when the decision-making on the sideline drew the kind of second-guessing that follows a loss like this. Trailing by a touchdown with less than two minutes left, Arkansas chose to punt, a call that effectively signaled the end of its comeback hopes and put a frustrating cap on a game it had made winnable. For a team that defended well enough and got enough out of its ground game, it was a painful reminder that game management can undo plenty of otherwise solid work. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Faces A Brutal Test Where Its Biggest Weaknesses Matter Most
Ryan Silverfield said Arkansas has tried to keep its energy high and its culture steady even as the losses have piled up, and that mindset will be tested again with Tennessee coming to town. The matchup sets up a familiar problem for the Razorbacks: a defense that has had trouble holding up against the run now has to deal with one of the SECs most efficient backs in DeSean Bishop, who has been central to Tennessees ground game.
For Arkansas, the challenge is bigger than just slowing one runner. The offensive line has also struggled to keep pressure off the quarterback, which has made the margin for error even thinner as the Razorbacks look for answers. The focus this week is on shoring up the run defense, but with Tennessee bringing a fast, physical attack, Arkansas is walking into a game where its most obvious weaknesses are the ones most likely to be exposed. [Read more 🡒]