FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas left tackle Fernando Carmona and quarterback Malachi Singleton earned SEC honors for their performances in the Razorbacks’ 19-14 victory over the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers last Saturday night.
Carmona, a redshirt junior transfer from Jose Jose State who has started all six games this season, was announced Monday as co-SEC offensive lineman of the week by the conference office. He shared the honor with Vanderbilt senior offensive tackle Gunnar Hansen, who helped the Commodores beat the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 40-35.
Singleton, a redshirt freshman backup quarterback, came off the bench in the fourth quarter for injured starter Taylen Green and scored the game-winning touchdown against the Vols. Carmona had an 84.0 grade on pass blocking according to Pro Football Focus and an overall blocking grade of 60.4 on 76 snaps.
Singleton scored a touchdown on an 11-yard run with 1:17 left to put Arkansas ahead 19-14. The touchdown capped a four-play, 59-yard drive after a Tennessee punt.
Singleton completed 2 of 3 passes for 31 yards and rushed 5 times for 15 yards playing in his second SEC game after he got in for a series at Auburn because Green was dealing with cramps. Singleton is the first Razorback quarterback to be SEC freshman of the week since Cole Kelley on Oct. 28, 2017, after he helped Arkansas win 38-37 at Ole Miss.
It was the second SEC honor for Carmona, who also was named offensive lineman of the week after the Razorbacks opened this season with a 70-0 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Carmona is the first Razorback offensive lineman to earn multiple weekly SEC honors in the same season since center Ricky Stromberg in 2022.
Night kickoff
Arkansas’ next game against No. 13 LSU will kick off at 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium and be televised on ESPN, it was announced Monday.
The Razorbacks have an open date Saturday while LSU plays No. 9 Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium on ABC.
The last four Arkansas-LSU games each have been decided by three points with the Tigers winning 27-24 in 2020, 13-10 in 2022 and 34-31 last season. The Razorbacks won 16-13 in overtime in 2021. Arkansas last beat LSU in Fayetteville 17-0 in 2014.
Big plays
Arkansas had 14 “big plays,” as defined by runs of 10-plus yards or passes of 15-plus yards, while high-powered Tennessee mustered only six such plays.
The Razorbacks had 10 big pass plays totaling 212 yards, the biggest being Andrew Armstrong’s diving 30-yard catch from Taylen Green. Additionally, Ja’Quinden Jackson caught a 26-yard swing pass, Armstrong made a 26-yard grab, Isaiah Sategna had a 23-yard catch over the middle and Tyrone Broden had a diving 22-yard catch down the left sideline.
In the run game, Braylen Russell had a 24-yard gain, then he and Malachi Singleton added 11-yard bursts on the Hogs’ game-winning drive and Jackson had a 22-yard carry in the second quarter.
Tennessee had the two longest plays of the game among its three big runs and three big passes. Dylan Sampson broke off a 53-yard carry to set up his 4-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Dont’e Thornton brought in a 42-yard heave from Nico Iamaleava on the Vols’ final, fruitless drive.
Beating top 5
Tennessee became the ninth top five-ranked team Arkansas has beat at home according to the UA notes.
The other victories include beating No. 5 Rice 7-0 in 1946 in Little Rock, No. 4 Texas 16-14 in 1951 in Fayetteville, No. 5 Ole Miss 6-0 in 1954 in Little Rock, No. 1 Texas 27-24 in 1965 in Fayetteville, No. 5 Southern Cal 22-7 in 1974 in Little Rock, No. 2 Texas A&M 31-6 in 1975 in Little Rock, No. 1 Texas 42-11 in 1981 in Fayetteville and No. 3 Tennessee 28-24 in 1999 in Fayetteville.
Armstrong streak
Arkansas senior Andrew Armstrong, who made nine receptions for 132 yards against Tennessee, has caught at least one pass in 33 consecutive games going back to the 2021 season when he played at Texas A&M-Commerce. He has caught multiple passes in 28 games in a row.
Armstrong has three games this season with more than 100 receiving yards, including a career-high 164 at Oklahoma State and 137 against Alabama-Birmingham.
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