Arkansas is heading into Saturday with a defensive assignment that looks a lot trickier after what Tennessee showed at Auburn.
The Volunteers don’t just arrive with a run-heavy identity. They also come to Fayetteville with a quarterback situation that is very much alive after Josh Heupel benched true freshman starter Faizon Brandon and turned to George MacIntyre.
Brandon opened the Auburn game by hitting just 3 of 8 passes for 0 yards and an interception, and Heupel made the switch. MacIntyre steadied things with 8 completions on 10 attempts for 86 yards in Tennessee’s 24-14 win.
“We will go watch the tape,” Heupel said after the game. “Faizon, ultimately, didn’t play his best football. The turnover on the sideline and some of the things, just progressions.
“I have said it a bunch to you guys. We are going to need them all through the course of the year.
Alluded to that a little bit earlier with guys that had to step up. We will get back in the building on Monday and continue to grow.
There is a lot of growth left for us on the offensive side of the football.”
The passing numbers were ugly, but Auburn’s defense made life miserable for both Tennessee quarterbacks. The Tigers, who rank No. 68 nationally, generated nine tackles for loss and three sacks while holding the Vols to their lowest passing total since Heupel took over in 2021. Tennessee finished with 86 passing yards, topping only the 100 it managed against Texas A&M in 2023 as the previous low in that span.
“George’s ability to throw the football in the second half allowed us to create a big play - in particular the one to (wide receiver) Mike [Matthews] early,” Heupel said after the game. “In general, it allowed us to take advantage of some of the things they were giving us.”
That quarterback uncertainty is only part of the challenge for Arkansas, though. The Razorbacks are 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC, and they still have not shown they can slow a Power Four rushing attack. Arkansas is giving up 146 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 76 nationally, and has already allowed 15 touchdowns on the ground.
That is a dangerous place to be against Tennessee. The Vols are built around a ground game that ranks No. 14 in the country at 240.6 rushing yards per game, and they have scored 14 rushing touchdowns.
Arkansas’ own problems were on display against Texas A&M, where the Aggies rolled up 231 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 49 carries. The bigger issue, though, was the damage Marcel Reed did through the air. Reed went 13 of 19 for 170 yards and completed four throws of at least 10 yards.
“So the few times that they took the explosive plays, the shot downfield, they were able to hit on it,” Silverfield continued. “To sit there and say, 'Hey, we got to stop the run' and literally the key to victory for defense, right, and not and limit the explosive passes.
“They're were able to hit those things and go back and say, 'Okay, where were our eyes on that? Were we just so worried about stopping the run? Were there, you know, where do they have to be better and continue to get that cleaned up?'”
For Arkansas to make Saturday competitive, it has to clean up both sides of the ball. Tennessee’s defense is not giving opponents much to work with, allowing 295 yards per game, which ranks No. 29 in the FBS, and just 15.2 points per game, good for No. 20 nationally.
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Tennessee's Freshman Reliance Suddenly Looks Like A Bigger Issue
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Josh Heupel came away encouraged enough to single out freshman Joel Wyatt for his work on special teams, but the bigger picture is harder to ignore after a 24-14 loss. When the youngest players are already carrying so much of the load and the quarterback spot turns again because of injury, Tennessees depth chart suddenly feels a lot thinner than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]