Arkansas mangled 496 yards of offense at Neyland Stadium, falling just shy of the 502-yard mark Georgia gave in the last SEC game on the field.
That shows a slight improvement in yards allowed, while Tennessee football also turned a three-point loss to the Bulldogs into a three-point win over Arkansas. And a win is a win at the end of the day.
But it’s still not where Tennessee wants to be.
“I remember being asked a question similar to this and asked how did the defense play and I still don’t feel like we played up to a standard we should be playing at,” edge Joshua Josephs said.
Tennessee forced a season-high three turnovers against Arkansas. It added five sacks, bringing the Vols to an SEC-lead 26 on the season.
But Arkansas marched the field at-will, and that is where the Vols are most concerned.
“I don’t really like seeing that no matter regardless of whatever turnovers we have or regardless of how many times we score on defense, I don’t like giving up yards,” Josephs said. “And I don’t like seeing that as a defense because I know that as a defense we’re way better than that.”
The struggles lie late in the chains. Tennessee allowed seven conversions on third down, hindering the chance to get off the field. Arkansas averaged 17 yards per conversion, making big plays when it mattered most.
The struggles also persisted on the ground, where Tennessee has been far from its best. In 2024, the Vols allowed an average of 103.9 rushing yards per game — but have increased that number to 135.2 yards this season, and a 212-yard-per-game mark in SEC play.
Mike Washington was the latest to test the Vols’ run defense, scampering for 131 yards on 19 carries. Taylen Green added another 63 from the quarterback spot. The Hogs ran wild for 10 rushes of 10-plus yards, including four of 20-plus yards.
“I feel like today was not our best ball,” linebacker Arion Carter said.
There still were positives to take away from the defensive side, however. The Vols four forced fumbles were the most in a single game under Josh Heupel and defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
They also added five sacks, taking the SEC lead with 26 for the year. It is the third time this season they have amassed five in a game, tying Syracuse and Mississippi State. They added nine tackles-for-loss.
“We’re being productive, but we just have to clean up the little things and get everybody on the same page to be even better than where we are right now,” Carter said.
Daevin Hobbs made his season debut on the defensive line, tallying a sack and a forced fumble. It served as the junior’s first-career sack. Sophomore edge Jordan Ross added to the fun, grabbing a sack and forced fumble of his own — the first strip-sack of his career.
Edrees Farooq set a career-high in tackles with nine, and forced a fumble, one that Carter fell on for his first fumble recovery of his career. Jadon Perlotte was another member of firsts, grabbing a fumble recovering on Josephs’ strip-sack.
As Tennessee hits the road for a red-hot Alabama team next week in Bryant-Denny Stadium, the defense will need a cleaner outing. Every Saturday in the SEC is a battle.
“Margins are small in this league,” Heupel said. “You’re playing like-talent every single week.”
