Tennessee vs Arkansas Q&A with Arkansas Fight

We traded questions and answers with Ryan Higgins of SB Nation's Arkansas Fight - check out our responses to their questions here.

1. Can you nail down one reason in particular why Arkansas has struggled at the beginning of this year, or has it been a number of different factors working against the Razorbacks?

Brandon Allen in the 4th quarter by far. Just kidding, had to troll part of our fan base with that. I would say penalties. The Hogs are the most penalized team in the conference and every time they have some momentum there will be yellow laundry on the field to shut that down.

2. Tennessee fans are hopeful the Vols will try to open up the passing game against an Arkansas team that has struggled against two of the better passing teams in the country.  Do you think there are serious issues with Arkansas' pass defense, or have they simply been victimized by great offenses from Texas Tech and Texas A&M?

Minus that last drive against A&M, the pass defense wasn't that bad against the Aggies. And really, I blame those losses on the offense. They held TTU to 35 and A&M to 21 in regulation. They know going into those games they have to score points and they didn't. If Tennessee is still trying to develop their passing attack, then I expect the Hogs' secondary to hold their own.

3. Offensive line is one of Tennessee's weaknesses, but the Hogs only have three sacks so far this year.  What's been the reason Arkansas has struggled to get to the quarterback and make plays behind the line of scrimmage?

Spread teams don't give up sacks because they get rid of the ball so quickly. They've played three spread teams in a row, so consequentially their sack numbers are down. Now there have been times where they could have gotten a little better pass rush, but they've played teams that they can't pin their ears back and go after the quarterback. I think if they played more traditional offensive teams, their sack numbers would be different.

4. The national opinion on Arkansas is they've tried to throw the ball too much with Brandon Allen.  What's your take on their offensive identity?

The line certainly wasn't run blocking well to begin the season. Now, against A&M both running backs finished averaging 5.8 yards per carry and looked a lot better. But before that, Dan Enos was going with plays that were getting yards. The majority of the time those were pass plays. After last week, I do expect them to run the ball more and stick with it if they consistently get a good push off the line.

5. As we've been discussing Butch Jones' relationship to the fanbase in a number of heartbreaking losses, what's the temperature like for Bret Bielema?  Have you seen consistent issues in their inability to win close games?

I haven't heard of anyone who doesn't wish he would just shut up at this point. Everyone knows you talk when you win and you shut up when you lose. I feel like that's a life skill people develop on the school yard in their peewee days, but I guess not. Whether or not people want him to go, he's going to get 5 years minimum. His buyout is too big otherwise. But he is flirting with having the same type of beginning to his SEC career record as Ed Orgeron and Sylvester Croom.

6. What's the most important thing Arkansas needs to do to win on Saturday in Knoxville?

Stop. Committing. Stupid. Penalties.