Arkansas looks worse up close. The Hogs lost 34-7 at Texas A&M, and KJ Jackson's 2nd throw of the night was intercepted. That came a week after the best game of his season, against Tulsa. The only Arkansas touchdown was a one-handed 26-yard catch by Chris Marshall. In their 2 SEC games, Georgia and A&M have outscored Arkansas 79-24, and the Utah game was 43-10. The 2 wins came against North Alabama and Tulsa.
Furman56-9
North Alabama31-14Tennessee's résumé is cleaner but not spotless. The Vols beat Georgia Tech 45-24 on the road, and their only loss is 20-17 to Texas at home. Their 3 other wins were all at home, and none of them came against a team as weak as this Arkansas group. This is only their 2nd road trip of the year. Fayetteville in October is a different place from Atlanta in September, but it's still a home crowd that has watched its team lose 3 of 5.
Arkansas is fairly healthy, with tight end M. Lassiter the only name on its report, so availability isn't the issue. Execution is: the offense needs Jackson to play like he did against Tulsa and not like he did against A&M. Tennessee will try to run Bishop behind a reshuffled interior. If that works again, a Razorbacks defense that gave up 34 or more to Utah, Georgia and A&M is in for another long afternoon.
The early forecast in Fayetteville calls for 69 degrees with light rain and a 7 mph wind. A slick ball suits a team that just won on 34 carries from its tailback. The things to watch this week are Tennessee's QB call and whether Umarov makes it back. The board hasn't posted yet, and once it does, those 2 answers will move it.