First Half Takeaways As Tennessee Leads Arkansas 7-0

FAYETTEVILLE — No. 15 Tennessee leads Arkansas 7-3 at halftime after a slugfest of a first half that saw Quincy Rhodes nearly score on a fumble return. Max Gilbert missed a 38-yard field goal on the ensuing play, however, leaving Arkansas scoreless in the first half.

Here are three takeaways from the first half.

Offense moves the ball a little bit, but sputters late in drives

Arkansas' offensive wasn't completely ineffective against Tennessee in the first half, but it didn't score any points.

The Razorbacks got down to the 20-yard line on their first drive before KJ Jackson coughed up the football and gave it to Tennessee. Arkansas struggled to move the football after that, ending the half with only 99 total yards and a grand total of four yards on the ground.

Defense keeps Arkansas in the game

Albeit against a backup quarterback in George MacIntyre, the Arkansas defense played an excellent first half.

UT only scored once on a drive where it was evident that Arkansas' defense, especially the defensive line was tired. The Volunteers ended the first half with only 178 yards. Star RB DeSean Bishop was held to just 18 rushing yards on six carries (3.0 YPC), while MacIntyre completed 12 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Little mistakes pile up

It was a plethora of small mistakes that bit Arkansas in the first half. There were times when the defense missed tackles, as well as three short punts from Gavin Rush. Jackson also made several errant throws where it was hard to discern who exactly he was trying to throw the football to.

Penalties were also a major factor in Arkansas' offense struggling to move the football. The Hogs had three penalties in a four-play span on their third drive of the day that completely killed any and all momentum the offense had. Max Gilbert's missed field goal at the end of the half was arguably the biggest mistake of the first half.

Tennessee's final drive of the half saw Arkansas not opt to call timeout after a pair of stops. While the Vols converted, it's the second time this season clock management before halftime was mismanaged by Ryan Silverfield and the Razorbacks.

The Volunteers will receive the second half kickoff with another chance to make this a two possession ball game.

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