FAYETTEVILLE — No. 12 Tennessee was taken to the brink in its 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State on Sept. 27. Running back DeSean Bishop ran 25 yards and scored on the first play of OT and the Volunteers, on their 4, stopped the Bulldogs for three straight plays to earn their first SEC win.

Like Arkansas, Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) had the past week off and previously lost its SEC opener by one score. The Volunteers fell 44-41 at home to No. 10 Georgia on Sept. 13 after missing a game-winning field goal in regulation. Despite that blemish, Tennessee is still on course for the College Football Playoff when it hosts Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. Central.

“This is the only home game that we have here this month inside of our stadium,” Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel said Monday. “So hopefully our fans are rested, juicy and ready to go. We need them to be a big part of this game as we get ready. Playing Arkansas, a football team that obviously has had some changes with their staff, but it’s a really good football team, too.”

Tennessee climbed as high as No. 4 last season before losing 19-14 at Arkansas. It strung together four straight home wins, beat No. 7 Alabama, but then lost at No. 11 Georgia and No. 6 Ohio State to end 10-3. The latter was 42-17 in the first round of the playoff on Dec. 21, 2024. That day’s starter at quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, transferred to UCLA after he missed an April spring practice.

Tennessee had to scramble for an answer and found 6-3, 225-pound Joey Aguilar from Appalachian State. The fifth-year senior has completed 102 of 157 passes (65%) for 1,459 yards with 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Four of the interceptions have occurred against SEC opponents, and he led the Sun Belt Conference last season with 14. Aguilar, who also played two seasons at Diablo Valley (Calif.) Community College, runs infrequently with 21 attempts for 58 yards.

“I’ve been pretty decent I would say,” Aguilar said Oct. 1. “Definitely a lot I can improve on. … There’s still a lot of stuff I can clean up all-around, get in some better situations, put the ball in some better places for receivers. … Getting (my) feet right. … Or a little rushed to where I’m trying to go. Definitely get my bottom half involved more.”

Arkansas interim Coach Bobby Petrino said he wants to keep Aguilar rushed Saturday.

“He’s got tons of experience,” Petrino said Monday. “He understands defenses and coverages, and we’ve got to try to make him uncomfortable.”

Chris Brazzell II has been Aguilar’s favorite receiver with 31 catches for 531 yards and leads the SEC with 7 receiving touchdowns. Accompanying wide receivers, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews, have alike numbers. Staley has caught 25 passes for 322 yards, while Matthews has brought in 22 for 370. Both have two receiving touchdowns.

Tennessee has split its rushing attack among sophomore DeSean Bishop and sixth-year Duke transfer Star Thomas. Bishop leads with 335 yards on 49 carries, Thomas has run 52 times for 305 yards and both have four touchdowns. Peyton Lewis has another three. The Volunteers have 690 more passing yards than rushing, and they are the nation’s highest-scoring team with an average 51 points per game. Their sixth-best 536.4 average yards of offense is heavily supplied via the passing game.

Besides the 73 points combined given up to Georgia and Ohio State last season, Tennessee’s defense ranked sixth nationally with 293.2 average opponent yards. The Volunteers have fallen to 76th in 2025 with 373.4 yards, despite an array of returning starters: linemen Dominic Bailey and Bryson Eason; linebackers Jeremiah Telander and Arion Carter; and defensive backs Jermod McCoy, Rickey Gibson III and Andre Turrentine.

Gibson and McCoy were listed out on all four SEC availability reports during the week of the Mississippi State win. Gibson suffered an injury in the season opener. McCoy tore his ACL in January and Heupel said he “continues to do a great job in his rehab with our medical staff (and) our strength staff.” This week’s first SEC availability report is expected Wednesday night.

Arkansas’ defense has allowed 129 points in its past three games. With both defenses stumbling, Saturday may trend toward another SEC offensive slugfest at Neyland Stadium. The venue’s 101,915 capacity is sold out for the 24th straight time.

“You never know on those,” Petrino said. “I’ve went into a lot of games where you thought, ‘Oh, man, it’s going to be a shootout,’ and it’s at halftime, 10-9. So you never know how that’s going to play out. … I feel like we’ve got to go in and be able to move the ball and score points.”

Matt Byrne is the Bob Holt Razorback Reporter, named in honor of the longtime reporter who covered University of Arkansas sports. This position is funded by the ADG Community Journalism Project.

At a glanceTennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) scheduleDATE;OPPONENT;RESULT/TIMEAug. 30;Syracuse#;W, 45-26Sept. 6;East Tennessee State;W, 72-17Sept. 13;Georgia*;L, 44-41Sept. 20;Alabama-Birmingham;W, 56-24Sept. 27;at Mississippi State*;W, 41-34, OTSaturday;Arkansas*;3:15 p.m.Oct. 18;at Alabama*;6:30 p.m.Oct. 25;at Kentucky*;TBANov. 1;Oklahoma*;TBANov. 15;New Mexico State;3:15 p.m.Nov. 22;at Florida*;TBANov. 29;Vanderbilt*;TBA#at Atlanta*SEC game