Top 5 matchups for Week 6 of the 2024 college football season

3. No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas – Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Tennessee and Arkansas have surprisingly only played one another 19 times despite several years as SEC opponents. The first matchup came back in 1907 and the programs didn’t see each other again until the 1971 Liberty Bowl and the 1990 Cotton Bowl. They played annual conference games from 1992-2002, but have matched up just five times since with Arkansas winning the last three contests.

Tennessee still leads the all-time series with a 13-6 record and the Volunteers are heavy favorites to earn win No. 14 on Saturday night in Fayetteville. Tennessee might be playing as well as any team in the country right now, defeating Chattanooga, NC State and Kent State all by 40 points or more before earning a gritty road win at Oklahoma. Tennessee’s offense is flying high, ranking No. 3 in the nation while putting up 565.8 yards per contest behind emerging quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Vols’ defense has perhaps been even better, ranking No. 1 in the country as the team has allowed just 28 points all year.

Those numbers could be daunting for Arkansas, but anything can happen in the SEC. The Razorbacks are not far off from being undefeated themselves, losing to Oklahoma State in two overtimes in Week 2 before a narrow four-point loss to Texas A&M this past weekend. Arkansas doesn’t have the defensive numbers that Tennessee does, but the unit has been solid overall. The Hogs’ offense has also been strong, getting terrific play from quarterback Taylen Green as the 13th-best unit in college football. If Arkansas can score early and find a way to make this a shootout, it could make an upset bid possible.