Five quick takeaways: Arkansas upsets Tennessee in Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennessee's undefeated season came to an end Saturday night when the Vols' offense faltered in a 19-14 loss at Arkansas.

Here are five quick takeaways.

Critical downstops in the fourth quarter of the first half

Arkansas moved the ball in impressive fashion against Tennessee in the first half. The Razorbacks went 74 yards on 16 plays to open the game before having to settle for a field goal.

Then on the next two drives, Tennessee's defense buckled because it had too many quarters-and-shorts to keep Arkansas from scoring points. On the second drive, Arkansas picked up a first down before a fourth-and-one at the Tennessee 34-yard line. Taylen Green found Var'Keyes' gum as he rolled out, but his knee was on the ground when he intercepted it just short of the line for the win.

Arkansas' next drive began at its own five-yard line and quickly turned to its own one-yard line after a false start and a negative run. But a broken coverage on third-and-15 led to a first down and Arkansas got another third-and-long play before getting into scoring range.

At that point, the Razorbacks faced each other on fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 20-yard line. This time, Green tried to break through on the rollout, but Jeremiah Telander and Will Brooks pushed him back just before the first down, causing a turnover on downs.

Even Arkansas' fourth drive entered Tennessee territory but ended in a missed field goal.

After dominating the game and having four good drives in the first half, Arkansas only held a 3-0 lead.

Arkansas' defensive front manipulated Tennessee in the first half

Tennessee got both starting offensive tackles back after the opener. That raised optimism that the Vols' offense would be able to open the game and put opponents on their heels.

Nothing like that happened in the first half. Arkansas' defensive front completely manhandled Tennessee at the top. Before its two-minute drive to end the first half, Tennessee had just 19 yards of total offense. Even after a two-minute drive that produced no points, the Vols only had 76 yards of total offense in the first half.

Tennessee couldn't get its running game going in the slightest and Arkansas was able to get the better of the Vols on obvious passing downs. Arkansas sacked Nico Iamaleava three times in the first half and xx times total with a plethora of other pressures.

The Vols receivers weren't always open and Nico Iamaleava was far from perfect, but the way Arkansas' defensive front controlled the game was the main reason Tennessee was stagnant on offense.

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Tennessee takes control and opens the second half

After a miserable first half by Tennessee's offense, the opening drive of the second half felt tremendous. It started off pretty shaky. Two short catches by Bru McCoy led to third-and-1 and he limped off the field.

Tennessee picked up the first ball on the ground and on the next play Dont'e Thornton limped off the field. The incompleteness of the second descent led to the third and fourth rounds, and that's when the dam finally broke. Dylan Sampson went 53 yards up the middle and scored from four yards out one play later to give Tennessee its first points and lead of the night.

The Vols' defense kept the momentum going as they forced Arkansas' first three-pointer of the game on the first drive of the half. James Pearce Jr. and Arion Carter connected at quarterback for a third down sack.

Tennessee then had the best field position of the night, starting at its own 41-yard line. Fueled by two Arkansas personal fouls and a third-down connection between Iamaleava and Chas Nimrod, Tennessee went 60 yards for a touchdown in seven plays.

After failing to score in the first half, Tennessee appeared to take control of the game with two touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. That proved unsustainable.

Tennessee's passing offense is letting them down

It felt like Tennessee was slowing down after the red-hot start to the second half, but that wasn't the case. Arkansas immediately responded with a touchdown to bring the game to within one point.

And although Tennessee's offensive line played better in the second half and the Vols had some success, they were never able to get anything through the air. There was blame that could be avoided. The pass protection still wasn't great, the receivers struggled to get into the game, and Iamaleava didn't make many hard throws.

The big missed opportunity came early in the second quarter on 3rd and 7. Squirrel White had a step behind the Arkansas defense and Iamaleava clearly outdid him. It wasn't a layup by any means, but on a night when Tennessee had trouble moving it, they had to make the play.

Iamaleava connected with Thornton for a long play on the final play of the game, but after that the passing attack failed again.

Tennessee finished the game with just 156 yards passing.

The Vols defense finally gives in

Tennessee continually asked its defense to step up in the game, especially as they clung to a lead of 14-10 and then 14-13.

But with the Vols' offense failing to ever get anything lasting going after the first two drives of the second half, Tennessee's defense couldn't keep up.

Arkansas started its final drive of the night at its own 41-yard line with 3:21 to play. On the first two plays of the drive, the Razorbacks made it to the Tennessee 22-yard line with a screen pass and a long run. After the Razorbacks completed another 10-yard run, Tennessee appeared to allow Arkansas a touchdown with 1:17 left.