Paul Finebaum: Bobby Petrino stayed alive in Arkansas coaching search in loss vs. Tennessee

After Arkansas suffered a 56-13 loss to Notre Dame in Week 5, the school fired head coach Sam Pittman. Arkansas announced it was beginning its search for its next head coach immediately and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino would be a candidate in that search.

On Saturday, Petrino made his first appearance this season as Arkansas’ interim head coach. The Razorbacks fell 34-31 to Tennessee, but ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes the loss didn’t hurt Petrino’s chances of being hired as Arkansas’ next head coach.

“He did what he had to do to stay alive in a very much of a long shot race to be the next Arkansas head coach,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “He improved the program dramatically. They played hard. And now, if he can win a game or two — I still don’t think he has much of a chance, but he didn’t hurt his chances yesterday.”

Arkansas certainly played with more passion than it had in its Week 5 loss to Notre Dame. The Razorbacks were tied 17-17 with Tennessee at halftime and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to nearly mount a comeback victory.

Arkansas had several standout performances on offense. Notably, quarterback Taylen Green completed 21-of-his-31 pass attempts for 256 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception. He also recorded 63 yards and a score in the run game.

Not to be outdone, Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. notched a team-high 131 rushing yards and a score on just 19 carries. In total, Arkansas amassed 497 yards of total offense. For reference, the Razorbacks recorded 365 yards against Notre Dame.

While Arkansas’ offense shined even brighter than before with Petrino as the interim coach, the team’s defense still has work to do. Arkansas is giving up 435.0 yards of offense per game, the most in the SEC. Bobby Petrino must prove he can find success on both sides of the ball if he wants to be Arkansas’ next head man.

“I just told them to keep their heads up,” Petrino said after the loss. “We came in here to show that we were going to compete. We were well prepared. They played physical and tough. They never gave in. We wanted to play one play at a time and find a way to win in the fourth quarter. I was proud the way the defense stuck together and kept competing.”