FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas is having its way with the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.
Dennis Johnson accounted for 140 total yards and a pair of touchdowns to help No. 8 Arkansas beat Tennessee 49-7 for its sixth consecutive victory.
The Razorbacks (9-1, 5-1) kept alive their hopes for a second-straight BCS bowl game — and possibly more. They also earned their seventh straight win against an SEC East opponent.
Johnson led Arkansas with 97 yards rushing, including a 71-yard touchdown run in the first half. He also had 43 yards receiving.
Jarius Wright added five catches for 94 yards, setting the school record for career receptions. Wright now has 154 catches, moving ahead of Anthony Eubanks’ previous record of 153.
Joe Adams made a pair of catches to reach 153 for his career, including a 40-yard touchdown.
Rajion Neal had an 11-yard TD run for the Volunteers (4-6, 0-5).
Freshman Justin Worley, making his third straight start in place of the injured Tyler Bray, was 15 of 29 passing for 210 yards for Tennessee. But Worley also had a costly interception late in the first half.
The Razorbacks had no such critical mistakes while remaining in the SEC and national championship picture.
In addition to Wright’s record-setting night, he and Adams combined to provide two of the more spectacular highlights of Arkansas’ season.
Adams’ gem was his 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, his third of the season and fourth off his career. The Razorbacks were leading 7-0 late in the first quarter when Adams fielded a Matt Darr punt and initially made a move to his right.
When the Tennessee return team collapsed on Adams, he backed up and turned to the left as though he were about to flip the field. When that closed down, Adams turned back to the right — with the Volunteers bouncing off and sliding over him — and streaked down the sideline before slamming down the ball once he crossed the goal line.
The rout was on after that, but the highlights were far from finished.
Wright tied Eubanks’ mark in the second quarter on a 40-yard pass from Tyler Wilson. Wright reached around Tennessee cornerback Justin Coleman to tip the ball up, and it eventually bounced again off his facemask before he was able to dive back and snare the ball just before it hit the turf.
The catch only led to a missed field goal, but Arkansas continued to add to its 21-7 halftime lead in the second half.
Johnson added his second touchdown on a 15-yard run in the third quarter, and Adams extended the lead to 35-7 with a 40-yard catch from Wilson.
Wilson finished 16 of 26 passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
The Vols had a chance to trim the Razorbacks’ halftime lead, but Worley was picked off by Tramain Thomas on third-and-goal.
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