Fearless Prediction: Tennessee vs. Arkansas
When you looked at Tennessee’s schedule back in the summer, you likely thought that Arkansas was the easiest game on the docket. The Razorbacks had lost 19 straight SEC games. They fired Chad Morris and hired Sam Pittman, who wasn’t a hot name in that coaching cycle. The roster wasn’t exactly stocked with talent.
But Arkansas has been one of the biggest surprises of the college football season. The Hogs beat Mississippi State. They beat Ole Miss. They were robbed of a win against Auburn. They are 2-3, but if you are a Razorbacks fan you have to be pleased with how the team looks these days.
The Vols are also 2-3, but their fans are feeling the opposite emotions. All the good vibes after season-opening wins over South Carolina and Missouri are long gone. Tennessee has lost 3 straight games and none has been close. That includes a 48-17 defeat to Alabama, the 14th consecutive time they’ve fallen to the Crimson Tide. It’s Year 3 of the Jeremy Pruitt era, and its obvious that Tennessee has a lot of work to do to be competitive in the league.
If Tennessee is even going to get to .500 this season, they have to win in Fayetteville this Saturday.
The Vols will have to contend with Florida transfer Feleipe Franks, who has rejuvenated his career at UA. Franks has completed 66% of his passes, throwing 11 touchdown passes with 3 interceptions in 155 attempts. His big play target is Treylon Burks, who has 26 grabs for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns. 2 of those scores came in last week’s loss to Texas A&M.
The running game isn’t that impressive, ranked 76th in the nation, but Trelon Smith and Rakeem Boyd have picked up 439 yards on the ground. Franks has run for 156 yards.
Which leads me to the Tennessee offense. Remember when that running game, with Eric Gray and Ty Chandler and what was supposed to be a dominant offensive line, was going to grind games out on the way to victory? Well, they are only ranked 70th in the nation.
Here’s some breaking news. The quarterback situation … it’s not good! Jarrett Guarantano keeps getting starts and Tennessee fans are losing their minds. Head coach Jeremy Pruitt has other options in Brian Maurer, J.T. Shrout and true freshman Harrison Bailey, but those are options he apparently is unwilling to pursue, at least not at this juncture.
The defenses are very similar in terms of statistics. Tennessee is ranked 59th nationally and Arkansas comes in 64th. The Vols’ best defender is linebacker Henry To’o To’o (33 tackles, 5 for loss). The Razorbacks best defender is linebacker Grant Morgan (58 tackles, 5 for loss).
This has nothing to do with much of anything, but the guy 2nd on the team in tackles for Arkansas has one of the best names in all of college football. A junior linebacker named Bumper Pool. That should be worth at least a few points a game.
I like to be honest with you, dear reader. You should know that I have no confidence in this pick. This game is basically a toss-up according to the folks in the big shiny buildings in the Nevada desert.
The Vols have had a bye week. Which is good … but I don’t think that the extra 7 days can solve their problems.
Arkansas is getting steady quarterback play. Tennessee isn’t.
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Fearless Prediction time …
Arkansas 23, Tennessee 17
Toss up appears to be spot on. Tennessee has, according to the talking sports heads, better talent. If they show up, it might be a Vols win by a comfortable margin but not a blowout.
Not happening. Pruitt has proven he can’t coach
Not true! How come Pruitt was able to beat Missouri?!
Got lucky that y’all hadn’t started Bazelak yet. Sorry if I just butchered the spelling lol. I bet of we played you again, Mizzou would wipe the field with our a$$as.
Here is what will happen on the first series. JG will try passing the ball to the sidelines and will be stopped for no gain 2 times then Pruitt will call for a run up the middle for no gain then they will punt the ball. What i dont understand is I watch other teams with freshman QB’s and they throw the ball down the field, Tennessee just throws to the sidelines.
The talent doesn’t play up to their potential tho. You have a loaded o-line of 5* and 4* players, 2 of the fastest WR’s in cfb, a RS Sr starting qb, and bordering 5* QB riding the bench. Our secondary is also experienced and should be the highlight of this defense. It’s as if they’ve regressed. This team ranks #14 in recruiting classes over the last 4yrs but plays like they’re #30 or worse. That is a huge problem.
Arkansas 31 Tennessee 10
I love your prediction but it’s to far apart 28-24 Razorbacks
Tennessee 33 Arkansas 13… we are a 2nd half season team under Pruitt!!! 6-4 with a bowl win
Dude, 24 is the ceiling with JG.
I wont be the least surprised with a Vol win, wouldnt bet on that margin.
Arkansas wins
Well every team in the sec except maybe florida and maybe ATM and those are two big maybes, would have 2 of our 3 losses. The ky loss is terrible based on how ky is playing but when you start off the game with two of the worst pick 6 throws that most grandmothers could pick off and then get another INT and fumble, well the team just fell apart. I get it. Good teams and good coaches find a way to regroup. We arent good yet in either category. Arkansas is pretty good and I also agree it appears to be a toss up. We clearly have the “rated talent” advantage but Ark is playing as a team, appears to be better coached and is typically not beating themselves. G should NOT be the starter. Throw all that “he gives us the best chance to win” BS out the window. You start bailey. he is the future of the program right now. He will take some lumps but its hard for me to believe the guys psyche is so fragile that if he gets taken out later or plays and loses… he will be damaged for life. Come on. I can tell you this. If G starts and plays all or most of the game and we lose Pruitt will be and should be hearing it. Start and play bailey and lose and the fans at least wont be as mad about it. I will also say this. the first time G gets a TO he better be pulled unless the game is in hand and he has played well until then.
I say again…this is the perfect time to play Bailey. The season is not going to be special, even if you go 6-4. Next year start with a guy with some SEC snaps and against a pretty good opponent in Arkansas instead of waiting for Vandy. Lots of QBs can get false impressions of greatness against Vandy…..sorry Vandy but its true.
arky also has a great DC in Odom…the best in the SEC imo.
I got this, ‘aight? I keep telling you guys, just calm down.
Like the previous poster said, almost anyone in the SEC would have lost to Bama and Georgia this year, plain and simple they manhandled us. You manhandle a team you win, plain and simple. Kentucky snuck up on us, had a great game on the day we pretty much sucked. It is what it is.
But the rest of the season is ours. Florida is really the only huge task left this year and I have a little something up my sleeve for them too.
Stop with all the hate, even though I know haters gonna hate. Look how much better things are now and take a peek at the overall direction this program is in since I got here. For the love of all things Orange, get with me, get behind me, or get the hell out of the way with all that negative bull schitt. Really.
I got this. We got this.
Go Big Orange
Prove it Coach. Show us saturday you got this, ahite! or get the hell out of the way.
If Tennessee Can beat Missouri then there is a chance to beat Arkansas!
I mean a very good chance to get a win against Arkansas!
Keep it on on dogging Arky. You two guys need each other for a rivalry. That boot thing with LSU was pretty lame. This is more suited to Missouri and Arkansas whether you can admit it or not. You guys should play each other the last game every year.
LSU is our long time and natural rival. In 1909, the Arkansas football coach Hugo Bezdek stepped down from the train returning fromBaton Rouge to address the throng of students that came to meet the team. As he was recounting of the 16-0 win over LSU that Coach Bezdek was to have said that the team played:
“like a wild band of Razorback hogs.” And the next year we were the renamed the Razorbacks. Love playing LSU. No clue why Missouri, a team that doesn’t even belong in the SEC, especially the East, became our rival. And I kinda liked the boot. LOL
If everyone dogged another team like you have going back three months worth of comments, it would really cement a rivalry game between Missouri and Arkansas. Keep your hate for the Hogs, it will work out to be a great series. Just too bad you’re not in the same division.
Lmao. Jeremy Pruitt wouldn’t say “haters gonna hate” get outta here
Arkansas has played pretty well this year despite Malzahn and his gang of Referrees
It is the strangest thing to continually see Auburn get their “fate” pulled out of the fire by the refs. It happens so often that with every one of their games you come to expect it especially if the game is in question with time running out….then BOOM the refs step in.
I’m watching this one for sure, it might be the best game on the SEC slate this weekend. Granted there are only a few games but even if there were more it would stack up as far as being evenly matched and competitive imo.
I don’t view this as a toss-up. TN has officially laid down. Arkansas wins.
Haters gonna hate
fuzzy is sometimes in left field and a homer, but it is hard to disagree with his post. Well put together.
Razorbacks 21 UT 14
Tough game. Vols pull away slightly in the second half with strong running game.
Underperforming OL, and secondary show a lot of improvement from bye week. DL slight improvement.
Tennessee 31
Arkansas 20
If Arky has any success at running, could be trouble for the Vols. Otherwise I think your 31-20 Vols win is good guess.
I bet Missouri would love to play Tennessee again now that they have decided on their quarterback. I said this previously, but Arkansas will win because they are playing loose and having fun. Tennessee is playing tight and the fans are down on the coaches to the point it has damaged player confidence in the coaches.
I’m not even sure Tennessee has better talent. Arkansas has two really good running backs and a budding star at wide receiver and an experienced sec quarterback. They have an offensive coordinator that has had success and a defense coordinator who will have a good game plan for the Vols. I expect a couple of interceptions because Odom will disguise the coverage.
Arkansas 28
Tennessee 17
Agreed on the Missouri comment. I told my son after Missouri changed QB’s that UT would have lost if that guy had started the game. Anyone who actually watched that game from start to finish knows that.
Odom schemes to stop the run, and does pretty well, but the Vols hit a couple of big play action passes and get out of town with a 28-24 win. Hope I am completely wrong.
Tennessee should win this game. The fact that there is so much doubt is why the Vols fans are so pissed, fair or not, because they are expecting to be upper tier and a match with Arky should be a walkover like Missouri. If they squeak out a win like 28-24 they will STILL be pissed.
Alabama and Florida have explosive enough offenses to just overwhelm Odom’s scheming–like A&M did–but I don’t put the rest of the teams on Arkansas’s remaining schedule in that category. Guess we’ll see.
During C19, I rewatched last 8 UT ball games. They were average, lucky to win each game. This year’s Vols are better. Vols weren’t as good as people claimed last year and aren’t as bad as people are claiming this year. Pruitt isn’t going anywhere for at least 5 more years, unless he loses every game between now and then. Pruitt needs time and he will get it. To say he can’t coach blah blah blah is ignorance. UT football was as bad as it could get when he got to The Hill. Most fans don’t/won’t realize that fact. Stop whining. Pruitt will be great. Vols will be great.
How can Arkansas win? They were a dumpster fire the last two seasons and they have a brand new coach? Tennessee has the edge in talent. What’s the difference? The coach… Pittman has those guys fired up and believing that they can beat anyone. They would run through a wall for him. They run plays that play to their strengths. They have a mobile QB who is elusive and doesn’t stand still in the pocket until it collapses. Their QB has more plays available. Meanwhile Tennessee continues the handoff up the middle followed by a 30 yard pass and then another run it up the middle on 3rd and long. I see a loss for the Vols. The Hogs are fired up and not afraid of anyone and playing at home. This is what a good coach does. He can get 3 star players to play like 5 stars.
Those numbers sound right (20s and teens) but not sure which team will…oh wait…
I forgot that UT’s offense cannot defend the interception well. UT offense 10, Arkansas offense 17 and Arkansas defense 14. 31-10 Hogs.