Arkansas became the first SEC team to make a coaching change this season when they fired head coach Sam Pittman last week following a blowout loss against Notre Dame and a 2-3 start to the season ahead of its first open date.
Usually when a team fires a head coach, the interim is a bit of an unknown. That couldn’t be farther from the truth for Arkansas interim coach Bobby Petrino.
The 64-year old coach is a veteran in college football and already spent one stint at the Head Hog from 2008-11. Petrino has faced off against Tennessee twice as a head coach and two other times as an offensive coordinator during his career. How has he fared?
Perfectly averaged. Petrino is 1-1 against Tennessee as a head coach and 1-1 against Tennessee as an offensive coordinator.
Petrino first faced Tennessee back in 2011 while Arkansas’ head coach. The Razorbacks humiliated Tennessee 49-7 at Donald W Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium in Fayetteville. Two years later, after an off the field scandal ended his tenure at Arkansas, Petrino took his Western Kentucky football team to Neyland Stadium.
The Vols knocked off Western Kentucky 49-7 thanks to a remarkable five first quarter turnovers by the Hilltopers including a pick six from freshman cornerback Cam Sutton.
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Stints at Louisville, Missouri State and UNLV (offensive coordinator) took Petrino away from matchups against Tennessee. But Petrino returned to the SEC in 2023 as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. Tennessee knocked off Texas A&M 20-13 at Neyland Stadium as James Pearce Jr terrorized the Aggies’ offensive line.
Petrino became the offensive coordinator at Arkansas a year later after the Aggies fired head coach Jimbo Fisher. Arkansas upset Tennessee a season ago in Fayetteville though the offense was far from dominant with the Razorbacks pulling out a 19-14 win.
In four total matchups against Tennessee, Petrino’s teams are averaging 25.3 points per game though the 2011 game obviously carries a good deal of weight in that formula.
Despite a disappointing start to the season, Arkansas’ offense has been one of the SEC’s best under Petrino this season. The Razorbacks are averaging 37.4 points per game, a mark that ranks 22nd nationally and fifth in the SEC so far this season.
Tennessee football opened as 13.5-point favorites over Arkansas according to the FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 69.5. Kickoff from Neyland Stadium is at 4:15 p.m. ET and the SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
