FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tennessee moved up one spot to No. 14 in Sunday’s AP poll after a fourth-quarter rally gave the Vols a 24-17 win over Arkansas.
The Vols entered the week ranked No. 15 and climbed after Oregon, Alabama, Texas and LSU all lost. Tennessee was favored by about two touchdowns but trailed 14-10 at the end of the third quarter before outscoring the Razorbacks the rest of the way.
Senior tight end Trent Thomas opened the scoring in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown catch, the first score of his 32-game career. Tennessee finished with 414 yards of total offense, 247 through the air and 167 on the ground, in front of 69,038 fans.
Sophomore quarterback George MacIntyre, a Franklin native, made his first career start and threw for a career-high 247 yards on 18 of 29 passing. He became the first Tennessee native to start at quarterback for the Vols since 2019.
Tight end DaSaahn Brame set up the go-ahead score with a 68-yard catch-and-run and then dove in from 1 yard out for a 17-14 lead. Senior running back DeSean Bishop sealed it with a career-long 59-yard run late in the fourth quarter and an 8-yard touchdown, finishing with 138 yards on 19 carries.
The win was Tennessee’s first in Fayetteville since Sept. 8, 2001, and its fourth straight road victory. It was also Josh Heupel’s 50th win as head coach, moving him past Bowden Wyatt for fifth on the program’s all-time list with a 50-21 record since 2021. Only three Tennessee coaches reached 50 wins faster. Paired with last season’s 34-31 win at Neyland Stadium, the Vols have beaten Arkansas in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2001 and 2002.
Tennessee turns its attention next to Alabama, the biggest game left on its schedule.
