FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Malachi Singleton scored on an 11-yard run with 1:17 remaining to lift Arkansas to a 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday night.
The Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) overcame a 14-3 third-quarter deficit to notch their first home win over a top-five opponent since beating the No. 3 Volunteers in 1999. Singleton, the backup to starting quarterback Taylen Green, led the game-winning drive after the Boise State transfer exited the game with an injury.
“Our kids, our coaches did a wonderful job of preparing our guys and making them believe that we can go win tonight,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “These guys are happy; they’re not surprised. If we have the same amount of turnovers, we can play with anybody.
“You get into coaching for moments like what just happened, and it’s to see the kids and the smiles on their face and the hard work that they do, because there’s a lot of teams that can’t get to that feeling. We did tonight.”
Along with No. 1 Alabama’s loss at Vanderbilt earlier in the day, it marked the first time two top-5 teams from same conference lost on same regular season weekend was Oct. 6, 2012 when No. 4 LSU and NO. 5 Georgia were beaten. It was also the first time two top-5 teams were defeated by unranked opponents since No. 4 Miami and No. 5 Florida State lost on Oct. 30, 2004.
Singleton completed 2 of 3 passes for 31 yards and ran four times for 12 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Ja’Quinden Jackson added 57 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries, and Andrew Armstrong led Arkansas with nine receptions for 132 yards.
“The last two drives, he was phenomenal,” Pittman said of Singleton, a redshirt freshman. “He ran (the offense) very, very well and scored the touchdown to go ahead. He’s been here a long time and hasn’t gotten to play. To go in there and score the winning touchdown — with the help of 10 other guys — has to be really fulfilling for him.”
Following Singleton’s score, Nico Iamaleava led Tennessee (4-1, 1-1) down the field to the Razorbacks’ 20, but he was pushed out of bounds on fourth-and-5 at the 16 as time expired. Arkansas fans immediately stormed the field.
Dylan Sampson scored two third-quarter touchdowns rushing in a 4:14 span to give the Volunteers a 14-3 lead, seemingly turning the tide of the game. But Arkansas, in front of the sixth-largest crowd in its stadium’s history, scored the game’s final 16 points and held on late with another defensive stop.
“When moments like this happen, the outside world’s going to have a narrative for you. We talk about it when it’s going good, and tonight it didn’t go good,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “You’ve got to look your teammates in the eye. Those are the opinions that matter.
“You’ve got to continue to pull the rope harder. We’ve got to continue to grow. Good teams get better throughout the course of the year. (We) still have a chance to be a really good football team.”
Green completed 19 of 27 passes for 266 yards before leaving the game.
Iamaleava was 16 for 28 passing for 156 yards, and Sampson ran for a game-high 140 yards on 22 carries.
When Arkansas capped a 16-play, 74-yard game-opening drive with a 20-yard field goal from Kyle Ramsey at the 5:48 mark of the first quarter, it was the first time Tennessee had trailed since its 38-10 loss to top-ranked Georgia last November. The Volunteers had not faced a deficit in their previous six games.
Tennessee is sure to drop in the upcoming AP poll after suffering its first loss since last November.
Arkansas may receive a healthy amount of votes.
Tennessee’s defense was solid for most of the game, but its offense, which entered the weekend No. 1 in FBS in points per game, has kinks to work out.
Arkansas enters the bye week on a positive note after recording the biggest win of the Sam Pittman era. The Razorbacks have matched their win total from last season and took a sizable step toward bowl eligibility.
Tennessee returns home to host Florida next Saturday.
Arkansas is on a bye week before hosting No. 13 LSU on Oct. 19.
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