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Josh Heupel explains that he let Arkansas score a touchdown in the loss at Tennessee

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Josh Heupel explains that he let Arkansas score a touchdown in the loss at Tennessee

Vols safety Jakobe Thomas stepped aside as Arkansas quarterback Malachi Singleton ran into the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead Saturday.

Tennessee football intentionally gave the touchdown to Arkansas late in the fourth quarter, Vols coach Josh Heupel said.

“At the very end, with the timeout and timeout situations we had, you try to give yourself a chance to respond,” Heupel said.

The touchdown was the point that handed Tennessee its first loss of the season. No. 4 UT (4-1, 1-1 SEC) lost 19-14 to Arkansas (4-2, 2-1) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Why Tennessee football gave up touchdown win over Arkansas

The Vols had two timeouts left at the start of the final Arkansas drive, which began at the Arkansas 41-yard line with 3:20 to play.

The Razorbacks gained 13 yards on a screen pass and then 24 yards on a Braylen Russell run to reach the UT 22-yard line. Russell again rushed for 11 yards to bring Arkansas to the Tennessee 11, giving the Vols and Heupel a choice.

UT could either allow a touchdown and get the ball back with a chance to win or tie the game, or hope that Arkansas misses a short field goal attempt. Heupel chose the former, allowing the touchdown and getting the ball back for the Tennessee offense.

Tennessee stopped the two-point conversion after Singleton's touchdown run, meaning UT had a chance to win the game.

Nico Iamaleava ran out of bounds on the final play of the game after Tennessee had threatened to win

Tennessee got the ball with 1:17 to play and two timeouts.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava gave UT a chance to win when he rolled right and launched a third-down pass that gave Dont'e Thornton a 42-yard gain. That play brought Tennessee to the Arkansas 25, but the drive lost its footing. Iamaleava sorely missed a tight end wheel route to Miles Kitselman. A snap hit from Iamaleava's hands and running back Dylan Sampson caught it and ran for a 5-yard gain.

NICO: Nico Iamaleava stats: Tennessee QB's best and worst moments in stunning loss to Arkansas

UT called a timeout with 13 seconds remaining. Iamaleava threw an incompletion to wide receiver Chas Nimrod. UT called a timeout again with 6 seconds left in the game. Iamaleava ran out of bounds on the final play of the game as he scrambled to his right looking for a possible pass.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you like Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription to access everything.

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