USA TODAY NETWORK/Via Reuters Connect
Oct 9, 2026 10:57 AM
Tennessee football is back on the road looking for another SEC win
Tennessee football is looking to do something it hasn't done since 2001 on Saturday.
The No. 15 Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) are heading to Fayetteville to take on unranked Arkansas (3-2, 0-2), seeking their first win at Arkansas in 25 years. Head coach Josh Heupel is 17-0 at Tennessee against teams with a below-.500 record at the time of the game.
"It’s a place that, historically, haven’t had a ton of success recently as a program," Heupel said on Monday. "Opportunity for us to continue to grow and get ready to go play a lot of physical football here on Saturday afternoon. A ton of respect for Arkansas, Year 1 (with head coach Ryan Silverfield), continued growth from them. It will take us being at our best.”
UT leads the all-time series with the Razorbacks 14-7, but is a measly 2-5 in Fayetteville — including a 19-14 loss in in 2024. The Vols will head into their first SEC road game with a question mark at quarterback.
After five-star freshman Faizon Brandon started the season as the signal-caller, he has been benched for redshirt sophomore George MacIntyre. Heupel said injury played a part in the decision — Brandon was also listed on the SEC Availability Report as questionable on Wednesday — but Saturday will mark the first start for MacIntyre in college.
On3 reported that MacIntyre is "expected" to start against the Razorbacks. He picked up 86 yards on 8-of-10 passing after coming in against Auburn. On his career, he has 148 passing yards and one touchdown on 14-of-20 attempts.
"This week is the only thing that matters," Heupel said. "Look at scoreboards, each week is its own season. Said that to the team this week. Said it a couple weeks ago, too. That’s for everybody in our building, not just quarterbacks. It’s everybody in our building."
The mandate to dominate in Fayetteville won't just be on the Tennessee offense. The Vols defense has been impressive in the loss to Texas and win over Auburn.
This will be coordinator Jim Knowles' opportunity this is a trend with his defense, not just a fluke. The Vols rank No. 3 in the SEC in scoring defesne (15.2 points a game) and No. 5 in total defense (giving up 294.8 yards a game).
- Tennessee wins on Saturday if it establishes the run game. The passing game — and the mix of two quarterbacks — has been inconsistent thus far. The best strategy is establishing the run game early and often, like UT did against Auburn, to take stress off both the defense and passing attack.
- Arkansas wins if it can get off the field defensively. UT's defense has been successful across all three levels so far, but it wore down against Texas. If Arkansas can keep Tennessee's offense off the field, there's a chance the Razorbacks could wear the talented defense down and come out with an ugly win.
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