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Wiedmer: Vols another brick shy of a victory Tied at halftime, Vols allow Arkansas to take control in second half Missed opportunities haunt Vols again Game Tweets: Arkansas defeats Tennessee, 24-20
KNOXVILLE – Arkansas coach Bret Bielema finally found a team he could beat in a close game.
When the third-year coach’s Razorbacks entered Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium on Saturday night, they were 0-9 under his watch in games decided by seven points or less.
No more.
After falling behind 14-0 in the opening quarter, Arkansas outscored the Volunteers 24-6 the rest of the way to win 24-20. The loss drops UT to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
If you think you’ve heard this story before – and far too often if you’re a Volniac for life – well, you have. Just as the Vols led Oklahoma 17-0 on the season’s second weekend, just as they were 27-14 ahead of Florida with less than five minutes to go last week, they once more disappointed their slowly dwindling fan base when it mattered most.
“We have to play complementary football,” losing coach Butch Jones said as he dipped into his bag of coaching blather. “It takes everyone working together. We had way too many missed tackles. We took a punt return off the board for six. For this team to win, our margin of error is still very small.”
If this one may leave a smaller scar than the losses to OU and the Gators, it might be because the Razorbacks appeared the better team from the second quarter forward everywhere save the kicking game. Unfortunately for UT, the Vols never could get close enough down the stretch to test that perceived edge, despite blocking an Arkansas field-goal kick in the third period.
The Razorbacks rang up 494 yards of total offense and held the Vols to 365. Had Evan Berry not returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown – the first time UT had accomplished such a feat since Willie Gault against Kentucky in 1980 – this could have been far worse everywhere except for the fact that Bielema might still be 0-9 in games decided by seven or less because the Hogs might have won by far more than seven.
“The culture has changed,” a defiant Berry said when asked about the attitude of the Vols going forward. “Sometimes the breaks just don’t come our way.”
But on this cool, damp night, the breaks did go their way. Berry’s kickoff return. A blocked field-goal try. A 14-0 lead against an Arkansas team that entered Neyland with a 1-3 record.
If those moments weren’t enough to crush the spirits of a visiting team in worse emotional shape than the Vols, what can the future hold against Georgia this coming weekend? And on a road trip to Alabama on Oct. 24? And a road trip the next week to currently 4-1 Kentucky? And a final road trip to dangerous Missouri in November?
“Our confidence level is high,” UT quarterback Josh Dobbs said after throwing for 232 yards but being held to 7 rushing yards. “We’re still together. All of our games have been close games. We had a productive day. We just have to finish the drill.”
But is this team capable of finishing the drill? It fell apart late against Oklahoma and Florida. It never seriously threatened to wrest the lead from the Razorbacks in the final period. It would not be a stretch to argue that the Vols are getting worse instead of better, their offense too predictable, their defense not quite deep enough to stay on the field 10 more minutes than the offense, as was the case against Arkansas.
“I know they hurt,” said Jones of his team. “We all hurt. There is no magical potion. You just go back to work. The opportunities are there, we just have to go make them.”
You can’t say this team is bad. Nowhere close. The same Florida team that was immensely lucky to knock off these Vols a week ago in Swamp absolutely crushed No. 3 Ole Miss inside the same Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night. Oklahoma likewise remains undefeated.
The Vols’ three losses have come by a total of 12 points. They held leads of at least 13 points in all three defeats. But running back Alvin Kamara said something he meant as a positive that could be a negative.
“If we’re behind we don’t play like we’re behind,” he said. “We play like we’re still ahead.”
Well, they’re behind now. In their overall record. In the SEC standings. In the hearts and souls of their fans, who booed the offensive play calling more than once on Saturday.
“We just weren’t able to make big plays at big moments of the game,” Jones said.
Yet again. Yet another brick or two shy when needed the most.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com