Image – Southwest Times Record
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 15 Tennessee survived an upset bid Saturday to extend the SEC’s longest losing streak.
Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop’s 8-yard touchdown run with 1:57 remaining gave the Volunteers a 24-17 lead and win. It was Tennessee’s first win in Fayetteville since 2001.
Arkansas (2-4, 0-3 SEC) lost its 14th consecutive conference game in heartbreaking fashion. The Razorbacks led 17-14 after the third quarter and had the ball near midfield with a chance to retake the lead when defensive back Shelton Lewis intercepted Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre at the Arkansas 42 with 5:44 remaining.
However, the Razorbacks failed to pick up a first down on their last two possessions. Following the Shelton interception, Arkansas went three-and-out. It set up a 5-play, 94-yard march that gave the Volunteers the lead.
On the final Arkansas drive, the Razorbacks faced fourth-and-10 from its own 25 with all three timeouts remaining, head coach Ryan Silverfield chose to punt. After deciding to punt, Arkansas had to stop what they knew was coming — the Tennessee ground attack but they were unsuccessful. Bishop ran for 6 and 5 yards to convert a first down on the next drive, and the Vols ran out the rest of the clock.
Tennessee rushed 35 times for 167 yards and outgained Arkansas in total yardage 414-288.
The Razorbacks tied the game 17-17 with 7:20 to go in the game when former Volunteers kicker Max Gilbert made a 55-yard field goal.
Former Tennessee safety Christian Harrison blitzed on a third-and-5 and hit MacIntyre to force an interception on the next possession. The home crowd roared, sensing that multiple long losing streaks could end.
On top of their SEC losing streak, Arkansas lost its 10th consecutive home game against a Power 4 opponent. The Razorbacks last win against such an opponent was a 19-14 victory against then-No. 4 Tennessee on Oct. 5, 2024.
Things went from bad to worse for Arkansas after the interception. Tennessee’s strong defense stopped tailback Sutton Smith twice, including on a third-and-10 draw play to force the punt that led to the go-ahead drive.
Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) began its go-ahead touchdown drive at its own 6 with 4:08 to play. Bishop ran 59 yards to the Arkansas 35 on the first play of the drive. Bishop ran for 5 and 4 yards on the next two plays, and a facemask penalty on Arkansas’ Hunter Osborne escorted the Vols to the Arkansas 13.
Bishop scored on the first play after the 2-minute timeout. He finished with 138 yards on 19 carries.
The Razorbacks leaned on their own run game early in the second half to take a 14-7 lead. They rushed 12 times for 113 yards on their first two drives of the second half.
After forcing Tennessee to a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, Arkansas marched 70 yards and tied the game at 7-7 on Braylen Russell’s 10-yard touchdown run. Cam Settles’ 27-yard run, Jamari Hawkins’ 20-yard end-around and KJ Jackson’s 10-yard keeper helped set up the score.
Miguel Mitchell intercepted MacIntyre’s deep pass at the Arkansas 37 on Tennessee’s next possession. The Razorbacks turned the turnover into a 14-7 lead, capping the ensuing drive with Jackson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaden Platt on second-and-goal.
Tennessee scored on its next two possessions to regain the lead. Volunteers placekicker Cooper Ranvier’s cut the Arkansas lead to 14-10 with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
On the first play after forcing an Arkansas punt early in the fourth quarter, MacIntyre connected with tight end DaSaahn Brame for a 68-yard gain to the Razorbacks’ 6-yard line. Brame then lined up at fullback and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal, putting Tennessee ahead 17-14 with 12:52 remaining.
Tennessee took a 7-0 into the locker room at halftime. MacIntyre threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trent Thomas with 10:03 left before halftime for the only score up to that point.
Quincy Rhodes gave Arkansas a late scoring opportunity when the defensive end recovered a punt and returned it 58 yards to the Tennessee 20 with three seconds left in the first half. But Gilbert’s 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, leaving the Razorbacks scoreless at halftime.
Arkansas took a Power 4 team to the limit after three poor showings in those types of matchups. Before Saturday, the Razorbacks had lost their three previous Power 4 matchups — road games against then-No. 12 Utah and Texas A&M and a home game against No. 2 Georgia — by a combined score of 122-34.
Notes:
Arkansas is in the middle of their third conference losing streak of at least 14 games. All three streaks have occurred in the last 15 seasons.
The current streak began on Nov. 2, 2024 when the Ole Miss defeated the Razorbacks 63-31. They lost its last three SEC games last season, went 0-8 in the league in 2025 and is out to an 0-3 start to begin this season.
Arkansas’ longest SEC losing streak stretched 20 games from 2017-20 across three head coaches and an interim coach. It included the final three games of Bret Bielema’s tenure, 14 under Chad Morris, two under interim coach Barry Lunney Jr. in 2019 and Sam Pittman’s first game in 2020.
The Razorbacks also had a 17-game losing streak from 2012-14. That included the final four games under coach John L. Smith in 2012 and the first 13 SEC games under Bielema.
Next Up:
Arkansas heads to Nashville next for their first matchup against Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3) since their 31-28 victory on Oct. 29, 2011. The Commodores lost to Ole Miss 52-17 on Saturday, which was their third consecutive loss.
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