Saturday, Oct. 5
7:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. Pacific
ABC
The Tennessee Volunteers, unlike Missouri and Ole Miss, look like a true College Football Playoff contender in the SEC. Whereas Mizzou and Ole Miss have been struggling this season against decent opponents, Tennessee has smashed North Carolina State and handled Oklahoma away from home with few problems. Now Tennessee plays another game away from Neyland Stadium in which it is still favored to win comfortably. Being a two-touchdown favorite in Fayetteville, at night, is no small thing. That is an indicator that the Vols have respect from Vegas and the betting public.
This game at Arkansas is fascinating because Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is squarely on the hot seat. A bad loss at Oklahoma State – on a day when Arkansas decisively outgained the Cowboys – put Pittman in a lot of trouble. Beating a not-very-good Auburn team relieved a measure of pressure, but if Tennessee blows the doors off the Razorbacks, it will become a lot harder to envision any scenario in which Pittman comes back for 2025. Pittman was really good in his first few seasons on the job at Arkansas. It seemed the program had found the right man to replace the disastrous Chad Morris. However, Pittman simply couldn’t sustain what he initially established. His game management decisions have been terrible. Arkansas is good enough to show what it can potentially be, and bad enough to squander leads and in-game advantages.
Arkansas’ inconsistency is the central focal point of this game against Tennessee, because the Vols are going to punish the Hogs or any other opponent which can’t play a 60-minute game. Tennessee’s offense roared against NC State. Its defense dominated in the prime-time win at Oklahoma a few weeks ago. The Vols have shown they can win in different ways. Coach Josh Heupel has a team which seems capable of at least matching the standard set by the 2022 team which beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl, if not exceeding it. Arkansas can’t get away with an inconsistent performance. It won’t be nearly good enough to get the job done.
Tennessee Volunteers-Arkansas Razorbacks Odds
Spread: Tennessee -13.5 (-115), Arkansas +13.5 (-105)
Total: 58.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Underdog moneyline: Arkansas +375
Hear T.J. and Gary discuss this SEC battle as part of the “3 Dog Thursday Podcast” by clicking play below,
What must Hogs do to stay in this one?
The main key to this game is Arkansas’ ability to slow down quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee offense. Oklahoma was able to do that a few weeks ago, but the Sooners’ offense was an absolute disaster under young and unproven quarterback Jackson Arnold. Arkansas, while very flawed overall, has a quarterback – Boise State transfer Taylen Green – who can make plays with his arm and his legs. The problem with Green is how erratic and volatile he is, but the point to emphasize is that he is indeed capable of doing something special. If Arkansas can handle Tennessee’s offense, the Hogs can get enough production from Green to put together a winning effort. Green isn’t consistent enough to win a 42-35 game, but he can make enough plays to win a 31-27 or 27-24 game.
The Arkansas defense has to prevent Tennessee from getting early separation on the scoreboard. If it can, then this game could get very interesting in the fourth quarter. However, having seen everything we have seen from Arkansas so far this season, it’s hard to give the Razorbacks the benefit of the doubt against a Big Orange machine which looks like a true heavyweight in the 2024 SEC.