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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Malachi Singleton scored on an 11-yard run with 1:17 remaining to lift Arkansas to a 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday night.

The Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1 SEC) overcame a 14-3 third-quarter deficit to notch their first win over an AP top-5 team since 2007 against No. 1 LSU. They had lost 18 straight against such teams entering Saturday.

It was also their first home win over a top-5 opponent since beating the No. 3 Volunteers in 1999. Singleton, the backup to starting quarterback Taylen Green, led the game-winning drive after the Boise State transfer exited the game with an injury.

“Our kids, our coaches did a wonderful job of preparing our guys and making them believe that we can go win tonight,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “These guys are happy; they’re not surprised. If we have the same amount of turnovers, we can play with anybody.

“You get into coaching for moments like what just happened, and it’s to see the kids and the smiles on their face and the hard work that they do, because there’s a lot of teams that can’t get to that feeling. We did tonight.”

Along with No. 1 Alabama’s loss at Vanderbilt earlier in the day, it marked the first time two top-5 teams from the same conference lost on the same regular-season weekend since Oct. 6, 2012, when No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Georgia were beaten. It was also the first time two top-5 teams were defeated by unranked opponents since No. 4 Miami and No. 5 Florida State lost on Oct. 30, 2004.

Singleton completed 2 of 3 passes for 31 yards and ran four times for 12 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Ja’Quinden Jackson added 57 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries, and Andrew Armstrong led Arkansas with nine receptions for 132 yards.

“The last two drives, he was phenomenal,” Pittman said of Singleton, a redshirt freshman. “He ran (the offense) very, very well and scored the touchdown to go ahead. He’s been here a long time and hasn’t gotten to play. To go in there and score the winning touchdown — with the help of 10 other guys — has to be really fulfilling for him.”

Following Singleton’s score, Nico Iamaleava led Tennessee (4-1, 1-1) down the field to the Razorbacks 20, but he was pushed out of bounds on fourth-and-5 at the 16 as time expired. Arkansas fans immediately stormed the field.

Dylan Sampson scored two third-quarter touchdowns rushing in a 4:14 span to give the Volunteers a 14-3 lead, seemingly turning the tide of the game. But Arkansas, in front of the sixth-largest crowd in its stadium’s history, scored the game’s final 16 points and held on late with another defensive stop.

“When moments like this happen, the outside world’s going to have a narrative for you. We talk about it when it’s going good, and tonight it didn’t go good,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “You’ve got to look your teammates in the eye. Those are the opinions that matter.

“You’ve got to continue to pull the rope harder. We’ve got to continue to grow. Good teams get better throughout the course of the year. (We) still have a chance to be a really good football team.”

Green completed 19 of 27 passes for 266 yards before leaving the game.

Iamaleava was 16 for 28 passing for 156 yards, and Sampson ran for a game-high 140 yards on 22 carries.

Behind early

When Arkansas capped a 16-play, 74-yard game-opening drive with a 20-yard field goal from Kyle Ramsey at the 5:48 mark of the first quarter, it was the first time Tennessee had trailed since its 38-10 loss to top-ranked Georgia last November. The Volunteers had not faced a deficit in their previous six games.

Poll implications

Tennessee is sure to drop in the upcoming AP poll after suffering its first loss since last November.

Arkansas may receive a healthy amount of votes.

The takeaway

Tennessee’s defense was solid for most of the game, but its offense, which entered the weekend No. 1 in FBS in points per game, has kinks to work out.

Arkansas enters the bye week on a positive note after recording the biggest win of the Sam Pittman era. The Razorbacks have matched their win total from last season and took a sizable step toward bowl eligibility.

Up next

Tennessee returns home to host Florida next Saturday.

Arkansas is on a bye week before hosting No. 13 LSU on Oct. 19.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not receive supplemental discipline for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Geuntzel in Game 3, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Tkachuk’s hit, in the third period of his team’s 5-1 loss, received a five-minute major. According to sources, the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that was enough, considering Guentzel had recently touched the puck and Tkachuk didn’t make contact with Guentzel’s head.

The department also believed that the force in which Tkachuk hit Guentzel was far lesser than the hit Tampa’s Brandon Hagel made on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2, which earned Hagel a one game suspension.

The plays led both coaches to trade jabs in the media. After Barkov went down in Game 2, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said: “The only players we hit are the one with pucks.”

Barkov missed the end of the third period, but played in Game 3. Game 4 is Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.

At his postgame press conference, following Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper deadpanned the exact same line as Maurice.

Tkachuk leads the series in scoring with three goals and an assist through three games. Guentzel has two goals and two assists for Tampa Bay.

The Battle of Florida is living up to the billing as one of the most contentious rivalries in hockey; either Tampa or Florida has made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons.

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Jets’ Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

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Jets' Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

ST. LOUIS — Connor Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner who is among the favorites to win the award again this season, allowed five goals before being pulled early in the third period as the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets fell to the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Sunday, evening their Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.

Hellebuyck has now been pulled in back-to-back games in St. Louis, during which he has allowed 11 goals and posted a paltry .744 save percentage. Eric Comrie made five saves in relief of Hellebuyck on Sunday, but the game had long been decided by that point.

His performances have not only energized the Blues, the No. 8 seed who lost the first two games of this series, but their fans, as well. In the third period Sunday, the St. Louis faithful chanted, “We want Connor” as he sat on the Jets’ bench.

Brayden Schenn, Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk each scored second-period goals to give the Blues a 4-1 lead, and Robert Thomas scored 2:01 into the third, ending Hellebuyck’s day.

Across the ice, St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, who defeated Hellebuyck in the 4 Nations Face-Off final in February when Canada outlasted Team USA, made 30 saves in the win. The Blues have now won 14 straight regular-season and playoff games at home dating back to Feb. 23.

“The last 10 minutes, we gave up three goals,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said of the second period. “Those are coverage goals, and those are situations that we usually handle pretty well. They are finding ways to get that puck in the net.”

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, staking the road team to a 1-0 lead, but the powerful Winnipeg offense that helped the club win the Presidents’ Trophy was never heard from again.

“This is obviously not what we wanted,” Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele said. “But it’s a best two-of-three series now.”

Hellebuyck has been pulled in consecutive games only one other time in his career, and given the Jets lost in Round 1 last season to the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg goaltending situation figures to be a storyline the rest of this series.

“At the end of the day, you know what, they took advantage of home ice,” Arniel said of the Blues. “We’ve put ourselves in this position. And our best players have to be better than their best players.”

The Jets and Blues return to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Williams out as Yanks’ closer; Weaver to get a shot

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Williams out as Yanks' closer; Weaver to get a shot

NEW YORK — Devin Williams has been removed from his role as New York Yankees closer “for right now,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.

The move comes two days after Williams endured another rough outing and was booed off the mound at Yankee Stadium in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 11.25 ERA with career-worst marks in strikeout rate (18.2%), whiff rate (24.1%) and walk rate (15.9%) in eight innings across 10 appearances this season.

“He’s still got everything to be great, right? This is a guy that is in the prime of his career and he’s just going through it a little bit,” said Boone, who informed Williams of the decision Saturday. “I tell our players all the time, you make a career that’s long enough and you’re going to face some challenging moments. You’re going to face some adversity along the way. And good news for Devin is he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side. And that’s my expectation.

“But, for right now, I think it’s best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum and fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”

Boone said setup man Luke Weaver, who has a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched this season, will assume “a lot of” the team’s save opportunities. Boone maintained he is open to using Weaver in high-leverage spots earlier in games and other relievers to close.

As for Williams, Boone said he won’t have a specific role — whether pitching in low-leverage situations or tight spots just earlier in games — as he seeks to re-establish himself for a team with the ninth-best bullpen ERA in the majors despite his struggles.

The key will be for Williams to avoid falling behind in counts as he did against the three hitters he faced Friday, leading to the home crowd again showering him with loud boos while adding a “We want Weaver!” chant.

Williams wound up surrendering two runs on three hits without recording an out to blow the save and continue his alarming troubles.

The Yankees hope his changeup-fastball mix will baffle hitters again and allow him to return to the pitcher he has been for his entire career.

“Count leverage is a big thing for pitchers, understandably, as it is for hitters,” Boone said. “And I think he’s been behind a number of times. He’s also had it not bounce his way in a number of these games where it’s gotten away.

“But I think the biggest thing for a guy as good as he is, as good as his track record is, and where he is from an age standpoint in the prime of his career, it’s just about, I think, man, having it start to click, getting in a good rhythm and then off we go.”

The Yankees acquired Williams in December to replace Clay Holmes as the club’s closer with one year of team control remaining before reaching free agency. The trade, which sent left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Corbin Durbin to Milwaukee, figured to cement the Yankees’ bullpen as one of the best in the majors.

Williams established himself as one of baseball’s premier relievers over six seasons with the Brewers using a singular screwball-like changeup known as “The Airbender.” The right-hander posted a 1.83 ERA with a 39.4% across 241 appearances in Milwaukee. He won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award as a setup man for Josh Hader and made two All-Star teams. His status was undisputed.

But Williams’ Yankees tenure has been turbulent from start. After emerging as the catalyst to have the Yankees’ decades-long no-beard policy changed during spring training, he was booed at Yankee Stadium during his sloppy debut on Opening Day against his former club.

Boone acknowledged the fans’ treatment could have an impact on Williams’ performance.

“I think there’s that adjustment,” Boone said. “Devin’s really been nothing but successful at the big-league level. He’s dominated. So, that’s all part of it. That’s what I talk to these guys all the time about is like, again, you’re going to go through a tough moment. When I came here in 2003 at the trade deadline, Mariano Rivera was getting booed in August. I couldn’t believe it. And then he’s still Mariano Rivera, recoups and goes on to do what he does.

“So, I’m sure there’s some shock to that and some … getting settled. He’s with a new team in a new environment. That’s all part of it. But my reminder to him is you have all the equipment to do this at an elite level and that’s still a reality.”

In other developments, Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year Award winner, started his throwing program Sunday. He has been sidelined since Feb. 28 because of a high-grade lat strain, is on the 60-day injured list and is projected to return in June at the earliest.

Also, right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga, who is returning from internal brace elbow surgery, started his rehab assignment for Class A Tampa on Saturday and threw 11 pitches with one strikeout in a clean inning. He could rejoin the Yankees as early as late May.

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