Hogs use some things learned from Oklahoma

By Jason Pattyson

Fayetteville - The Razorback’s win tonight was not a solid effort by the defense, but a game plan executed to perfection in the stunning 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee, the first top-5 SEC win for the Hogs since 2007.

When head coach Sam Pittman and Arkansas needed a group to come through after an integral part of their team got hurt, the Razorback defense was the game’s star and has been all season. They had kept the Hogs in every game this year and gave them a chance late in the fourth quarter in the two losses this season. 

Tennessee played ahead all year until tonight

Entering the game, Tennessee had led every second of the last six games heading into tonight, dating back to the 2023 season. The Razorback defense had to change the blitz approach as they were dead last in the NCAA in blitzes per game entering Saturday. 

Through four games, the Volunteer offense averaged 54 PPG. They faced their first good defense and mustered 25 points in an ugly win two weeks ago in Norman. The Tennessee defense was tops in the nation entering Saturday in first-down defense, but their strength of schedule was in question, and it has shown in the last two weeks of SEC play. The Vols face Florida next week for their first home SEC game of the season. 

“We watched Oklahoma, and they had some success,” Pittman said post-game. “You know, they held them to 25. With all of that, and then did it fit our schematics? But that’s where it started. It was the tape on Oklahoma because they’re the only ones that had done really any good at all. We implemented some of that because of that.”

Tonight, Arkansas proved they can play with anyone in the nation, especially at home, where the Hogs will host five or their next six games. The path to a bowl game appearance became clearer tonight. The question is, can they get to six wins, and is that the floor and not the ceiling? 

Arkansas and Blitzing were not synonymous until tonight 

The Razorback defense came into the game with a great game plan: keep pressure on Iamaleava and set the edges to prevent him from running free and making plays with his legs. The Hog defense sacked the Vols signal caller four times, hurried him three times, broke up three passes, and had four tackles for loss. 

This unit heard the message loud and clear from pundits and fans alike. Pressure needed to be applied for them to have a chance once more against this high-powered offense. They made Iamalava feel uneasy in the pocket all night, a Vols offense that was tops in the nation in offense and defense. 

Coach Pittman after the game on the defensive game plan Saturday night. 

“The game plan came in Sunday night. T-Will had talked about what he thought he wanted to do. We started practicing it on Monday. There were some tweaks and all that, but I think it was, we ran something that they had not seen us run,” Pittman said.  “We were really worried about stopping the run, but we always had the edge covered because we were bringing corners off a read run, and we were bringing the field linebacker off the read run, and we mixed it up, so we had a little bit of an odd front and then a little bit of a four-man and mixed it up. We brought total zero blitz, heat. I just thought Travis did a wonderful job of calling the defensive game.”

Coach (Josh) Heupel was asked after the game what Arkansas was doing to confuse them Saturday. 

“Structure was a little bit different than what they had shown on tape,” Heupel said post-game. “I thought we adjusted after the first drive. As much as anything, again, shooting ourselves in the foot early and, playing from behind the sticks and not being efficient on third down. You put those two things together, and that’s why we had a half like we did.”

The Defensive unit was stat stuffers tonight

Senior Donekio Slaughter took it personally, facing his former squad Saturday night. He racked up eight tackles; four were solo and a pass breakup. Senior Eric Gregory was a one-man wrecking crew in the middle of a stout Volunteer offensive line.

Gregory had four total tackles; two were solo, one and a half sacks, and tackles for loss. Senior Steven Dix Jr. helped round out the effort with six total tackles, three solos, half a sack, and half a TFL. 

“That locker room in there believes we’re pretty good. They work hard. They’re together,” Pittman said post-game. “I think maybe it’ll unite the state a little bit in saying, Hey, this is our guys. Let’s go. Let’s go back ’em like they did tonight. And I’ll be honest, most of the state’s been doing that anyhow. But I think it’s more for the state to do that than our team because our teams believe that we can beat anybody in the country.”

The Final stop that sealed the game

A gassed defensive line in that final drive tapped into the bottom of the tank and gave it their best effort to close the game. The Vols defense gave up an easy walk-in touchdown and the lead banking on the arm of their redshirt freshman. 

Arkansas’s pass defense was ranked 88th, and head coach Josh Heuple banked on his offense, which was 33rd in the country. He just didn’t account for the fact that the Hogs scheme had worked so well to that point in the game. He was banking on the law of averages and wound up on the short end of the stick. 

Senior defensive tackle Eric Gregory credits the crowd for the win Saturday. 

“They played a huge factor, man. They had, I think, four false starts. That was huge; they gave us a lot of momentum,”Gregory said. “They helped the defense. They helped the team. It was great, man. Appreciate the fans for coming out and supporting us. Just keep believing in us, and I appreciate it.”

Up next and a date with the Bye Week

This is a chance for the Razorbacks to get a little healthier. A few names need this week off to get right before LSU, and game time has not been announced yet in two weeks.