Arkansas beat No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 at home Saturday night, marking the Razorbacks’ first top-five win since 2007 at No. 1 LSU.

Paired with No. 1 Alabama’s loss to unranked Vanderbilt the previous Saturday, it marked the first time since Nov. 12, 2016 that two AP top-five teams played unranked opponents on the same day lost (three lost that day – Michigan to Iowa, Clemson to Pitt, Washington to USC).

It also marks the first time that two of the top five SEC teams lost to unranked opponents on the same day.

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Arkansas got the ball back down 14-13 with 3:20 to play and suddenly moved down the field with ease and took the lead when backup quarterback Malachi Singleton burst into the end zone with 1:17 to play. The Razorbacks went for two, but the conversion attempt failed. Singleton entered the game in the fourth quarter after starter Taylen Green left with an apparent leg injury.

Tennessee still had a chance to recover. On a frustrating night for his passing game, quarterback Nico Iamaleava connected with Dont’e Thornton Jr. for 42 yards to Arkansas’ 25. But a shot to the middle of the field was blocked by former Tennessee defenseman Doneiko Slaughter, putting him in the game four-and-five with five or six seconds remaining. Iamaleava was forced off the field as time expired.

Arkansas suffered a loss to Texas A&M.

Arkansas and Pittman are getting a boost

What a huge boost for this program that was picked to finish 14th in the SEC but is now 4-2 with a clear path to bowl eligibility and more. Sam Pittman, who started the season in the hottest spot, gets the biggest win of his five-year tenure. A lot of the goodwill he built early in his tenure was being competitive against good teams without shutting them out, and a big part of the problem last year was not winning close games.

This time they’ve finally done it and received the image of a field storm that will result in a hefty fine from the SEC, but the school will happily write the check.

There’s also the way the Razorbacks did it: They rallied from a 14-3 deficit in the second half and scored the winning points with their backup quarterback. And while Bobby Petrino’s offense ultimately did its part, it was the defense that held Tennessee’s vaunted offense in check until the final drive and sealed the upset.

“The AD will be crazy, or maybe not,” Pittman told ESPN after the game regarding the field rush. “I don’t know, I don’t care right now.”

Tennessee’s margin for error is shrinking

In the expanded era of the College Football Playoff, this is not an end to the season. But it reduces the margin of error and makes it fair to re-examine how the Volunteers burnished their credentials early in the season.

NC State’s loss – now 3-3 after a home loss to Wake Forest – no longer looks all that impressive. The Oklahoma win looks better, even though the Sooners are the least impressive team in the country at 4-1. And after looking like the best offense in the country in the first three weeks, the Vols have now been held to 25 and 14 points in the last two games. Iamaleava is a great talent but still needs to develop further. Meanwhile, in the final two minutes, the defense had a team run down their backup quarterback for the go-ahead score.

Next week’s home game against Florida should give the Vols a chance to get back on track. But then along comes Alabama, suddenly a duel between two teams fighting to avoid a second loss. This game was fascinating even before this Saturday and continues to be so for completely different reasons.

(Photo: Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)