Arkansas football is a 13.5-point underdog this weekend as it hosts the high-powered Tennessee Vols, who are coming off of an open date after rolling Oklahoma in Norman two weeks ago.
Vegas has the Razorbacks at +425 to win the game outright and ESPN’s Football Power Index gives them just a 17.9% chance of victory. With an over/under set at 60.5, Vegas’ projected score is somewhere around 37-24 in favor of Tennessee.
It isn’t all doom and gloom, though. On Wednesday’s episode of his college football show, Josh Pate said the Vols might be on upset alert: “I am scared for Tennessee…because there is a real world where Arkansas is 5-0.” He went on to point out that heralded ESPN broadcasters Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler will be on the call for the 6:30 p.m. CT primetime matchup, which makes him worry for the Vols.
Of course, Pate represents the minority when it comes to predictions surrounding this matchup, with most analysts predicting Tennessee to not only win, but actually cover the two-touchdown spread. But a little optimism is always nice and, after all, there’s always a chance.
Arkansas Win Would Invoke Deja Vu
A Razorback upset on Saturday might create a sense of deja vu for fans who remember Arkansas’ first season as a member of the SEC. In 1992, Arkansas went just 3-7-1 and replaced head coach Jack Crowe with interim head coach Joe Kines after an embarrassing season-opening loss to The Citadel.
In October of that season – nearly 32 years ago to the day – the Hogs marched into Knoxville with even fewer people giving them a chance than they will for this year’s matchup. It also just so happens that in 1992, Tennessee, like today, was ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and a top contender for the national title.
Turns out, Arkansas should’ve been given more of a shot than they were, as the Hogs knocked off the Vols by a final score of 25-24, led by an 18-year-old quarterback by the name of Barry Lunney Jr., who would eventually return to Fayetteville as a tight ends coach and even serve as interim head coach at Arkansas in 2019 after the departure of Chad Morris.
If the Hogs could do it then, in the midst of a head-coaching change and with a quarterback who had never started a college football game before, they can surely do it this weekend under the lights of Razorback Stadium and boosted by a striped-out sea of Razorback hopefuls.
(READ NEXT: Keys to Arkansas Pulling Off a Shocking Upset vs Tennessee)
Chance to Wreck Tennessee Again, Literally
Recently, the state of Arkansas hasn’t been too kind to the Tennessee football program.
In 2020, the Hogs knocked off a much less intimidating version of the Vols in Fayetteville the last time the programs squared off. Consider, too, what happened just two weeks ago as the Tennessee equipment truck was returning to Knoxville from Norman, Okla., after the Vols’ 25-15 win over the Sooners: it managed to get into an accident on I-40 near North Little Rock.
Luckily, the only injury reported was to the truck’s trailer, which had to be towed off of the highway, causing a massive traffic backup and redirecting commuting traffic headed into Little Rock.
Only Saturday will tell if a new equipment truck will give the Vols all of the inspiration they need to avoid an upset like the one they couldn’t on the highways of central Arkansas.
Poking Fun at Tennessee
Former Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones sees the making of something that could turn ugly on Saturday if the Hogs are as sloppy with the ball as they were against Texas A&M.
“It could be a massacre on October 5th,” he said on Monday’s episode of “Halftime,” ESPN Arkansas’ midday sports talk show. “If they’re rested and they’re ready to go, man, and we don’t show up and we don’t take care of the football, we’re liable to get beat by 27. Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country. You better take them for real.”
This gave co-host Phil Elson a chance to dive in and make a joke about how the Arkansas State Red Wolves could do more to save the Razorbacks than agreeing to play them every once in a while at War Memorial Stadium.
Elson imagined that perhaps on its return to Arkansas this week, the Tennessee equipment truck might make an accidental turn north on U.S. 67 instead of continuing west on Interstate 40 toward northwest Arkansas. Although this 125 mile detour is unlikely, Arkansas might breathe a sigh of relief if the Vols were to accidentally show up to Jonesboro, home of Arkansas State, rather than Fayetteville.
Elson also took the opportunity to poke fun at Tennessee sports writers who were referring to North Little Rock as “north of Little Rock” when talking about the accident.
Regardless of where the Tennessee equipment truck ends up, though, Arkansas will have to be on its A-game this weekend if it wishes to once again knock off the No. 4 Vols.
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Check out this interview with Fernando Carmona Jr. with his own brother:
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