KNOXVILLE — At a certain point, the University of Tennessee football team’s rinse-and-repeat tendencies are bound to wash away what could still be a promising 2025 season.
Although the past two games have produced thrilling Southeastern Conference wins at Mississippi State and against Arkansas, the late-game high-wire act is not a formula for lasting success.
The trademarks this team has developed again created undue frustration Saturday evening at Neyland Stadium, where the 12th-ranked Volunteers blew a 17-point fourth-quarter cushion and needed a clutch offensive drive to chew up the final four minutes and preserve a nerve-wrecking 34-31 win over the Razorbacks.
“Ultimately, we found a way to win at the end, but we made it close at the end as well,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “We’ve got to finish the drive on the one before the ultimate four-minute drive to end it. Defensively, we’ve got to get a stop at the end. I love the way we started in the second half, but in the fourth quarter, obviously we want to play better.”
For the second game in a row — this time at home and coming off an open date with time to focus on cleaning up issues from the first five games — those same pesky problems arose. The Vols were the most penalized team on the field (10 for 78 yards compared to one for 10 yards against Arkansas), including a 15-yard penalty that halted what was a promising drive to open the second half and ultimately led to settling for the go-ahead field goal instead of a tone-setting touchdown.