Josh Heupel is High on Silverfield, Not Overlooking Matchup With Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Josh Heupel and Tennessee beat Arkansas last season in a 34-31 thriller at Neyland Stadium that saw interim coach Bobby Petrino and the Razorbacks nearly come from behind and steal one against the Vols.

But when asked on Monday at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Fla., about playing Arkansas for a third straight season, Heupel could only think back to the 2024 matchup between the teams.

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That night saw Arkansas topple a Tennessee team that was ranked No. 4 in the country after Malachi Singleton scored a game-winning touchdown and Nico Iamaleava ran out of bounds on the game's final play.

"Disappointing result two years ago," Heupel said. "Some things that we didn't handle with structural changes from them defensively at the beginning of that football game.

“Ultimately we're on the wrong side of it. Some key plays down the stretch that we didn't maximize, take advantage of. That was a night game inside of this league. Great environment. [Razorback Stadium] is a tough place to play."

That win, which occurred on Oct. 5, 2024, is the last victory for Arkansas against a Power Four program inside Razorback Stadium.

The Vols will once again come to Fayetteville on Oct. 10. It will be only the second SEC home game in the UA tenure of first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield, who Heupel was very complimentary of on Monday.

"Ryan has done a really good job," Heupel said. "When he was at Memphis, I was at UCF, had familiarity with him. Then his track record since I've left there. He's got familiarity in the footprint. Smart, organized. Has gotten his guys to play at a really high level."

Silverfield won the lone matchup between himself and Heupel when they faced off as the head coaches at Memphis and UCF in 2020. The Tigers pulled out a 50-49 victory at the Liberty Bowl in Silverfield's first year as the head man at Memphis.

Hogs, Vols Have Exciting History

Arkansas has won four of its last five against Tennessee, though UT has a 14-7 edge in the overall series.

Games between the Razorbacks and Volunteers have often been memorable: see Clint Stoerner's fumble in the waning moments in Knoxville in 1998, Clint Stoener to Anthony Lucas the very next year in Arkansas' revenge in Fayetteville, a surprising win for UA on Rocky Top in 2015 and the aforementioned 2024 and 2025 contests.

Arkansas will likely be home underdogs against a Tennessee team that could very well make the College Football Playoff in 2026.

But if history is any indicator, Silverfield's first Razorback squad could at least scare the Vols out of northwest Arkansas even if they can't come out on top.

Sign up to our free newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter) for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google