Tennessee and Arkansas have made marked improvements this season.

At 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, the Volunteers have secured their first eight-win season and five-game winning streak since 2007, when they went 10-4 in Phillip Fulmer’s penultimate season as their head coach. Plus their conference record is a two-game improvement over last year’s mark, and they are projected to play in the Music City Bowl.

The Razorbacks (7-5) have matched their win total from last season, but they have been dramatically better in conference play, going from 2-6 last year to 5-3 in 2015. Plus, the Hogs are projected to play in the Liberty Bowl.

So both teams have made big jumps at least in terms of their records, but starting with the Vols, let’s take a deeper look to determine which squad has made bigger strides:

Case for Tennessee

The Volunteers have gotten better on ‘D’ in two keys areas: rushing defense and scoring defense. Tennessee has allowed exactly 3 points fewer per game than it did last year (21.2 compared to 24.2) and has yielded about 15 fewer yards on the ground per contest (153.3 as opposed to 168.4). However, the passing defense took the Vols’ biggest step backward, surrendering 217.2 yards per matchup in 2015 after giving just 196.2 per game last year. That regression caused Tennessee to yield about 6 more total yards per tilt (370.5 versus 364.6).

The Volunteers took their biggest step forward on offense, gaining 52 more yards per game (422.5, compared to 370.5). The ground game made a huge jump from 146.4 yards per game (which was 13th in the SEC in 2014) to 223.5 this year to rank second behind only LSU.

The Vols’ offense also made another leap in scoring, going from 28.9 points per game to 34.3 this season, moving from 10th to 4th in the SEC. Somewhat surprisingly, the passing offense took a step back this year, with Tennessee averaging 199 yards a contest after throwing for 224.2 a year ago.

Case for Arkansas

Somehow, the Razorbacks are succeeding despite the fact that their defense isn’t. The Hogs have regressed in scoring defense (yielding 27.8 points per game compared to 19.2), rushing defense (119.6 yards per game versus 114.6), passing defense (284.5 yards per game as opposed to 208.8) and total yards (404.1 against 323.4).

A 53-52 victory at Ole Miss and a 51-50 loss to Mississippi State certainly haven’t helped those numbers.

On offense, Arkansas’ running game dipped in production, which is understandable since the Razorbacks lost Jonathan Williams for the season in August due to an ankle injury.

Behind Williams and Alex Collins — who both rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season — the Hogs gained 218 yards per game in 2014 but have fallen to 192.6 per contest this year.

However, the rest of the offense perked up in points (35.2 per game, up from 31.9), passing yards (264.3 per game, up from 188) and total offense (456.8 yards per game, up from 406).

There’s no doubt that QB Brandon Allen’s career year during his senior season had a lot to do with the uptick in those categories.

Breaking down the opponents

Arkansas beat Tennessee 24-20. But in that defeat and every other game they didn’t win this year, the Volunteers surrendered a lead before losing.

In their losses to Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas, the Vols yielded leads of at last 13 points; and in their 19-14 defeat in Tuscaloosa, they were up by a point before Derrick Henry’s TD run with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter sealed their fate.

Tennessee’s losses have been to two likely College Football Playoff participants, the SEC East Champion and Arkansas. The combined record of those opponents is 38-10 (.792 winning percentage).

The Razorbacks also lost to Alabama — 27-14 — and the combined record of the teams that have defeated them is 43-16 (.729). Arkansas’ 16-12 home loss to Toledo on Sept. 12 looked bad, but the Rockets are 9-2 — a mark bettered by only Alabama’s 11-1 among teams that have beaten the Hogs this year.

And looking back at SEC Media Days in July, Tennessee was predicted to finish second in the East and Arkansas was projected to finish fourth in the West.

Well, second is exactly where the Vols finished, but the Razorbacks ended up a spot higher than expected — finishing third and ahead of LSU by virtue of their 31-14 victory over the Tigers.

Edge goes to …

Regardless of what happens in Tennessee’s bowl game, this will still be the Vols’ best season in eight years.

Arkansas would duplicate its 7-6 mark of a year ago if it loses its bowl game, but the Razorbacks have come a long way from their collective 7-17 record over 2012-13.

In addition to beating the Volunteers straight up this year, Arkansas made its three-game improvement in the SEC against teams with a 36-23 collective mark (.610 winning percentage) while Tennessee’s SEC foes this year were 27-34 (.442).

Both Arkansas and Tennessee have made great improvements this year. But the Razorbacks’ have made bigger strides — albeit by a Hog’s nose.