Sarah Bentham • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Joe Adams looked like he was playing a video game, ducking and dodging defenders on a spectacular punt return.
Teammate Jarius Wright was playing volleyball a little later, tipping and tapping a pass to himself for a circus catch. Running back Dennis Johnson did it the more conventional way, busting through the line of scrimmage and slipping between defenders for the longest run of his career.
Arkansas flexed its firepower during a 49-7 win against Tennessee in front of 72,103 in Razorback Stadium, overwhelming the Volunteers with big play after big play.
“They probably felt like everything was going against them,” Wright said of the Vols.
It led to a sixth-straight win, which equals the longest streak during Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s tenure. It also helped the Razorbacks finish a season unbeaten in Fayetteville for the first time since 1999, when fans tore down the goal posts after Arkansas’ knocked off third-ranked Tennessee.
This one didn’t inspire fans to storm the field considering the Hogs were a heavy favorite against a Tennessee team that fell to 0-6 in conference games for the first time. It did, however, help the Razorbacks (9-1, 5-1 in SEC) remain in the hunt for the SEC-West title and move one step closer to a season-ending showdown at No. 1 LSU.
“That’s a good win for us,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “We played well in all three phases, certainly made big plays in all three phases. It was a good team win for us.”
Arkansas honored its influential 17-member senior class during a ceremony before the game. Petrino told his team they needed to be honored on the field with a strong performance, too, something it accomplished.
Adams turned in the first big play with 60-yard punt return for a touchdown. The senior broke at least six tackles winding and weaving his way through the Vols. It was Adams’ third punt return touchdown this season and the fourth in his career. It also was one of the year’s more remarkable plays.
“I kind of caught it with a guy in my face, and I made him miss,” Adams said. “I ran to the sideline and I saw the corner and I tried to reverse field. Then I saw five guys, so I reversed back to the sideline.
“I just want to go home and watch the play and see how the whole play went.”
Petrino didn’t need a replay.
Sarah Bentham • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
“It was an amazing play,” he said.
Johnson made it 21-0 a little later when, one play after Wilson misfired on a deep ball to Adams, the junior took a hand-off and raced 71 yards. The longest touchdown run of Johnson’s career made it 21-0.
Wright — who had a touchdown catch earlier in the half — made a spectacular play of his own on a deep ball from Wilson. The senior came back to catch the underthrown pass, juggling the ball off a Tennessee defender, his facemask and hands before making one final lunge to convert a 40-yard completion.
“I didn’t know how good of a throw it was,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “But I heard everybody yell. So it was a good play.”
Arkansas didn’t score on that drive after a missed field goal by Zach Hocker. And, despite the highlights, Arkansas did have to fight through a second-quarter lull before it could enjoy the rest of the night.
Tennessee scored its first touchdown on Rajion Neal’s 11-yard run with 9:26 left in the second quarter. The Vols nearly made it a seven-point game at halftime, too, but a promising drive ended when freshman quarterback Justin Worley threw an off-balance pass intercepted at the goal line by Tramain Thomas to help preserve a 21-7 lead.
Worley, making his first road start, completed 15 of 29 passes for 208 yards.
“When our backs are up against the wall, we just seem to come through,” Thomas said. “I like that about our team.”
Arkansas recharged in the locker room, then broke the game open in the third quarter.
Johnson added his second touchdown run of the game on a 15-yarder midway through the quarter. Tennessee then misfired on a fourth-and-1 play from its own 40 and Razorbacks provided the dagger with a 40-yard pass from Wilson to Adams on the very next play.
“You’ve got to make a play,” Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said. “We don’t make a play, throw an interception right before the half and that hurt. When you miss those kinds of opportunities against a team like this, you’re going to pay. That’s what happened.”
Arkansas’ 42-point win was its largest in an SEC game since 2003, when it beat Mississippi State 52-6. It also was Arkansas’ fourth — and biggest — win against the Volunteers.
“This is like we’re in advanced school … football school of beatdown learning,” Dooley said.
Sarah Bentham • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
Wilson didn’t enjoy his best night, but finished 16-for-26 for 224 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Johnson had 97 rushing yards, leading a ground game that gained more (254) than the passing attack (245) for the first time this season. Wright caught five passes for 94 yards, beating Adams to first on the school’s career receiving chart with 155 catches.
“I’ll have to even them up next week,” Wilson said. “That’s great. I’m happy for both those guys. They both deserve it.”
Wright and the seniors played a big role in the win with five of the seven touchdowns were scored by seniors. In addition to Adams (two) and Wright (one), running back Broderick Green reached the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and De’Anthony Curtis capped the night with a 26-yard touchdown run, the first of his career.
Defensively, Thomas had the key interception at the goal line and 10 tackles. Linebacker Jerry Franklin had nine more stops to add to his team lead. And defensive end Jake Bequette notched his team-leading sixth sack.
“What I’ll remember most is that we got the win in such convincing fashion,” Bequette said. “The time to think about what it means to be a Razorback and what it meant to play here, that time is after the season. …
“But right now we’re on a mission.”
