Hogs never lost the faith against Vols in 2nd half
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas shut out Tennessee in the second half as the Razorbacks rallied for a 24-13 victory Saturday night.
It was a reversal of the first half, when Tennessee jumped out to a 13-0 lead and gained 123 yards on its first two possessions, including an 86-yard touchdown drive.
“We never lost the faith,” said linebacker Bumper Pool, who led the Razorbacks with 14 tackles. “To be honest, they weren’t doing anything we didn’t know they were
going to do.
“We just weren’t executing, and I think by halftime everyone was like, ‘We’re way better than this. Let’s go show it.’
“Then we came out in the second half and the momentum was rolling. That was probably one of the most fun halves of football I’ve ever played.”
Arkansas’ defense was especially dominant in the third quarter, holding the Volunteers to 16 yards on 10 plays. All 16 yards came on eight rushing attempts and Tennessee had two incomplete passes.
The defense set the tone for the second half when tackles Jonathan Marshall and Isaiah Nichols stopped Eric Gray — who rushed for 89 yards in the first half — for no gain on the Vols’ first snap of the third quarter.
“We just had to stop the run,” safety Jalen Catalon said of the
Vols rushing for 135 yards in the first half. “I think they were just finding the holes and cutback lanes to get through.
“We had to regain the line of scrimmage, and hats off to the D-line for making their adjustment and doing that.”
Tennessee had 50 rushing yards in the second half and finished with 292 yards in total offense.
“We put some guys a little bit more on the edge and we were a little tighter for the cutback lanes,” Coach Sam Pittman said.
Pittman also credited defensive coordinator Barry Odom with switching up where the Razorbacks brought pressure and alignments up front.
“Our kids, really they kind of had them figured out,” Pittman said. “The double-teams and the single blocks and all this kind of stuff, they kind of figured out how to beat them there at the end of the second quarter.
“I just think they were really confident going out that we could get it done.”
The confidence grew when the Razorbacks’ forced a punt on Tennessee’s first possession of the second half after the Razorbacks had a 75yard touchdown drive to cut the Vols’ lead to 13-7.
“Whenever the offense went down and scored and we got that stop, we were like, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ ” Pool said. “The momentum and everything about it was so much fun. The crowd got into it. It was just a great second half.”
The Vols finally put together a good drive when they drove 72 yards to the Arkansas 10, but on the game’s final play cornerback Hudson Clark tipped Harrison Bailey’s pass and Catalon intercepted it in the end zone.
“I think that drive, to us, was our statement,” Catalon said. “Anybody on defense in that situation can get lackadaisical, start worrying about what’s going to happen after the game, celebration.
“We weren’t worried about that. We were trying to keep our momentum going and get our last stop because we wanted to make a statement that no matter what situation we’re in, give us a place to stand.
“No matter what the score is, what the time is, we’re going to go out and have the same mindset. And that showed.”
Bailey — Tennessee’s third quarterback after Jarrett Guarantano suffered an apparent concussion and Brian Maurer was ineffective — completed six consecutive passes on the drive before an incompletion and Catalon’s interception.
“We wanted them to throw it in front of us, but we made a decision as a defense that we weren’t going to let them score,” Catalon said. “We weren’t going to give up this one.
“Hudson Clark made a great play on the ball, and I just came down with it to seal the game. So, hats off to him, and hats off to the whole defense for staying focused and making that last stop.”