QUARTERBACKS The passing attempts, completions and yards were fairly similar for both teams. The difference was Tennessee’s Erik Ainge had two touchdowns, no interceptions and made the big throws when he had to. Arkansas ’ Casey Dick and Nathan Emert combined to throw three interceptions and no touchdown passes, and the Razorbacks converted 2 of 12 third downs, mostly punting because of incomplete passes. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
RUNNING BACKS It’s usually easy to fill in the Razorbacks helmet in this category, even in losses, simply because Arkansas has Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and the other team doesn’t. Saturday, because of an early injury to Jones, Arkansas only had McFadden, who ran 22 times for 117 yards. Tennessee, meanwhile, got 83 yards from Arian Foster and 65 from Montario Hardesty, which helped the Volunteers completely control the clock. Foster’s 59-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter sealed the game for Tennessee. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
RECEIVERS Marcus Monk caught three passes for 26 yards and Lucas Miller 2 for 41 yards. No other wide receiver caught more than one pass, and the Arkansas receivers were never a factor in the game. Austin Rogers caught six passes for 62 yards and the game’s first touchdown, which gave Tennessee momentum it never relinquished. Lucas Taylor added four receptions and Josh Briscoe had a touchdown catch for the Volunteers. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
OFFENSIVE LINE Proof that Tennessee’s offensive line was getting great push — twice in the first half Ainge went 3 yards on a quarterback sneak when everyone knew it was coming. Ainge never even was knocked to the ground, much less sacked or hurried by Arkansas ’ defensive front. The Volunteers offensive line anchored a running attack that kept McFadden and Co. off the field. Arkansas averaged only 3. 5 yards per rush and gained 127 rushing yards, well below its season average, and the Razorbacks gave up two sacks. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
DEFENSIVE LINE Arkansas got zero pressure on Ainge, who had more problems with an erratic arm that the Razorbacks’ pass rush, but that wasn’t the worst part of the defensive line’s afternoon. The Razorbacks’ line was called for six offsides penalties, including three on Malcolm Sheppard, and none came at a good time. Tennessee’s two sacks came from linemen, Xavier Mitchell and Dan Williams. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
LINEBACKERS The Volunteers did as good a job containing Arkansas’ rushing offense and McFadden as any team besides Auburn, and their linebackers played a large role in that. Middle linebacker Jerod Mayo led Tennessee with nine tackles and an interception return for a touchdown and strongside linebacker Ryan Karl had seven tackles, with both players stepping in often to stop McFadden once he got through the first line of defense. Freddie Fairchild had 10 tackles and Weston Dacus a nice tackle for a loss, but Arkansas’ linebackers were generally quiet. ADVANTAGE Tennessee
DEFENSIVE BACKS Arkansas ’ Rashaad Johnson and Michael Grant led all players in tackles with 13, but most of those came on running backs that burst through the line. Johnson took a bad angle on Foster’s long touchdown run, and Arkansas’ secondary never seemed to make a play when they had the chance. Tennessee free safety Jonathan Hefney had eight tackles and strong safety Eric Berry had two interceptions. Arkansas did complete more than 50 percent of its passes (15 for 29 ). ADVANTAGE Tennessee
SPECIAL TEAMS Each team’s place-kicker made two field goals and each team had a long kick return that led to a score. Each team punted five times, with Arkansas’ Jeremy Davis averaging 39. 8 yards and Tennessee’s Britton Colquitt averaging 40. 2 yards. Special teams did not impact this game greatly. ADVANTAGE Even
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