Big Orange Report October 9, 2025

 

Payback Time

A year ago, on Oct. 5th, Tennessee traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas as a favorite to defeat the Razorbacks. Of course, the result was not what Big Orange Nation expected as the home team shocked the Vols. The 19-14 loss would eventually damage the Tennessee position in the college football playoffs and UT fell to a very talented Ohio State squad. Had the Volunteers won at Arkansas they would most certainly have had a better seeding and chance to win their first playoff contest. In that loss, Vol quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled, throwing for just 158 yards, no touchdowns and he was sacked four times by the Arkansas defense.  

On Saturday afternoon, 12th ranked Tennessee gets an opportunity for payback against a Razorback squad that has seen a major coaching shakeup with Bobby Petrino taking over as the head man. His first move was to fire over half the defensive staff. After a year of wondering what might have been if his team had won at Arkansas, you can bet Josh Heupel and his staff have had this game circled. Tennessee will not over look the visitors this weekend and the players should be rested, primed and ready to erase the memories of the tough loss from last autumn.

Echos from 2022

Three years ago, transfer quarterback Hendon Hooker lite up opposing defenses and engineered a potent offensive attack that was impressive for the vast majority of the season. In his first five games in '22, Hooker threw for 1432 yards and 10 touchdowns. Now fast forward to 2025 and look at what transfer signal caller Joey Aguilar has done through his first five starts. Aguilar has passed for 1459 yards and has tossed 13 scoring strikes. The bottom line here is that the Tennessee attack is humming like a well-oiled machine once again.

Key Matchups

Vol defense vs. Arkansas offense-- Tennessee will face a quarterback, Taylen Green, who is among the leaders at this crucial position in the SEC this season. Green is a true dual threat field general who has rushed for 441 yards, thrown for 1398 yards and 12 touchdowns. Add the fact that Bobby Petrino has been considered one of the premiere play callers in college football for almost two decades and the problems are magnified even more. Green's favorite target has been O'Mega Blake who has grabbed 30 passes for 399 yards and three scores. Running back Mike Washington has rushed for 393 yards, four touchdowns and is averaging 6.44 yards per carry. The point of emphasis here is the fact that the UT defense is at or near the bottom of the statistics against scoring, passing and running in the conference this season.

Tennessee blockers vs. Razorback linebackers-- Vol quarterback Joey Auguilar can checkmate the numbers that Green has put up this season but perhaps Coach Heupel would like to see his infantry turn up the pressure in this game. Arkansas linebackers Xavian Sorey and Stephen Dix, Jr. are one of the top pairs of defenders in the league on the second level and have combined for 67 tackles this season. They are efficient run stoppers who can also blitz on passing downs. The Vol offensive linemen must find these guys and move them out of the running gaps on Saturday.

Interesting Comparison

Obviously, we have questioned the strategy, leadership and ability to adjust on the fly from defensive coordinator Tim Banks who is one of the highest paid DCs in the SEC. Let us review the numbers from Mississippi State's last two weekends.

This past Saturday, the Bulldogs took it on the chin in College Station, scoring only nine points. The Texas A&M defense was salty. MSU had a anemic total of 217 yards of total offense and ran for only 77 yards. The 'Dogs could manage just 14 first downs and converted only 1 of 10 third downs to move the chains.

Against the Vol defense, MSU put 34 points on the scoreboard, had 378 yards of total offense and posted 24 first downs. State also converted for first downs on 8 of 19 third down situations.  

Vol Notes

Junior defensive tackle Daevin Hobbs is expected to see his first action if the season. The early projected starter was injured in pre-season practice. Offensive linemen Sam Pendelton and Jesse Perry sprained an ankle late in the last game, but both are hoping to be ready to go on Saturday. Cornerback Jermod McCoy may be close to getting on the field, but at this writing it is not known if he will play against Arkansas. 

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