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Sam Pittman told ESPN’s Holly Rowe he was happy she was in town to see the Razorbacks win a big one. As fans stormed the field, Rocky Top played throughout Razorback Stadium, and Arkansas celebrated a 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee, Pittman said he could not be prouder of his team.
“What a great couple drives there at the end. The defense ended up keeping us in it and then at the end, won the game for us. I’m so proud for the kids, the coaches, and these folks,” Pittman told ESPN immediately after the game.
The Razorbacks scored with 1:17 remaining in the game to take their first lead since it was 3-0 early in the first quarter. But many wondered if they’d left too much time on the clock for the Vols’ high-octane offense.
A deep ball to Dont’e Thornton pushed the Vols to the Arkansas 25, but they never seriously threatened the Razorbacks’ endzone. On fourth down with 6 seconds on the clock and 20 yards still to cover, UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava was run out of bounds at the 16 to end the game.
“T-Will had them ready to play. They played hard the entire night,” Pittman said. “We didn’t turn the football over, nor did they, but I said it — if we are the same in turnovers as anybody in the country, we can play with them. Tonight we proved it.”
Both of Arkansas’s losses this season — a 39-31 defeat at Oklahoma State in Week 2 and a 21-17 loss to Texas A&M last weekend — felt like games in which the Razorbacks did enough to win. But turnovers were a persistent thorn in the side.
Arkansas played a mostly clean game against the Vols. No turnovers. They controlled time of possession and narrowly won the field position battle. Penalties weren’t a huge concern. And the Hogs only gave up 2 sacks to a strong Tennessee defensive front.
Taylen Green was knocked out of the game in the second half, forcing Malachi Singleton off the bench and into the game. On the game-winning drive, Singleton hit a pass for 13 yards to get the Hogs rolling and then paid it off with an 11-yard keeper for the score.
“Wasn’t that awesome? Malachi, the guys rallied around him,” Pittman said. “Just a big, big win for the University of Arkansas.”
And a big win for the Razorbacks’ head coach. Rowe asked him after the game how many field-stormings he had been part of during his Arkansas tenure, and he said this was the second.
“I think the AD’s gonna be mad,” Pittman joked, alluding to the fine the school will have to pay. “Maybe he won’t be. But right now I don’t care.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
