FACTS & STATS: Site: Neyland Stadium (104,079) -- Knoxville, Tennessee. Television: Local. Home Record: Arkansas St. 1-0, Tennessee 1-0. Away Record: Arkansas St. 0-1, Tennessee 1-2. Neutral Record: Arkansas St. 0-0, Tennessee 0-0. Conference Record: Arkansas St. 0-0, Tennessee 0-1. Series Record: First- ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Fresh off a truly embarrassing loss to their most fierce rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers get back to action against the visiting Arkansas State Indians. Arkansas State put forth a valiant effort in its season opener against national powerhouse Texas, and while that road tilt did result in a 21-13 setback, the competitive nature of the game instilled a great deal of confidence in the Indians. They returned to action last weekend against SMU and came away with a 45-28 triumph. Clearly, a win over Tennessee would serve to send a very clear message that Arkansas State is a legitimate major college football program. The Vols need to pick up the pieces after last weekend's 59-20 whipping at the hands of the Florida Gators in Gainesville. Tennessee is now 1-2 on the young season, having lost to Cal as well. This game marks the first-ever meeting between Arkansas State and Tennessee on the gridiron.

The Arkansas State offense came out and played extremely well in the first quarter against SMU last Saturday, scoring three touchdowns in the frame. Reggie Arnold's one-yard touchdown plunge was sandwiched by a pair of Corey Leonard rushing scores. Leonard ran for another touchdown later in the contest and also threw a pair of scoring strikes. With 29 first downs and 516 total yards, it is fair to say that the Arkansas State offense controlled the game against SMU. Arnold finished the clash with 156 rushing yards on 19 carries, and Leonard posted 52 yards on the ground. The signal caller completed 22-of-34 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, overshadowing the fact that he was intercepted once and sacked four times. In the opener against Texas, ASU managed just one touchdown, a two-yard plunge by Arnold in the final minute of the contest. The talented tailback rushed for 68 yards on only 11 carries against a strong defense. As for Leonard, he threw for 259 yards against the Longhorns, and both he and Arnold will be the keys to offensive success once again this weekend.

There are both positives and negatives to take from Arkansas State's defensive performance against SMU last Saturday. The Indians managed to limit the Mustangs to fewer than 100 yards rushing and generated three turnovers in the clash, including a pair of interceptions. Also, SMU's offense spent less than 24 minutes on the field and put forth a 4-of-13 effort on third down conversion attempts. As for the negatives, the Indians surrendered four passing touchdowns, a stat that certainly will not sit well with the coaches or players. Arkansas State held Texas to 340 yards and 21 points in the opener, an obvious accomplishment considering the offensive talent that exists for the Longhorns.

Late in the second quarter of last weekend's game against Florida, Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chris Brown. Unfortunately for the Vols, that was their only offensive touchdown of the contest. Ainge, who is considered one of the better signal callers in college football, completed 26-of-41 passes for 249 yards and was not sacked at all by the speedy Gator defense. Ainge did throw one interception, but his effort was valiant, especially considering that his receivers are young and inexperienced for the most part. Ainge got no support from the ground game, which mustered a measley 37 yards. Tennessee was 5-of-17 on third down conversion attempts and had possession for just over 25 minutes. Through three outings, Tennessee is scoring 30.0 ppg while posting 383.0 ypg of total offense. Arian Foster, who was completely ineffective against Florida, leads the squad in rushing with 240 yards and two scores. Ainge has completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 796 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception. Lucas Taylor, Austin Rogers and Josh Briscoe are all tied for the team lead with 17 receptions.

Judging by the final score of last weekend's game, it is fair to say that Tennessee was dominated by the Florida offense. Sure, the Vols did score a defensive touchdown, but that one bright spot does little to overshadow an otherwise miserable performance. So just how bad did things get? Well, Florida was able to compile 554 total yards in the clash, with over 250 yards both on the ground and through the air. Two of the Gators' touchdowns were non- offensive scores, but it is still hard to give the Tennessee defense any sort of pass. Considering that Tennessee is surrendering 41.0 ppg and 459.7 total ypg, it is safe to say that the defense is most to blame for the 1-2 start. Sure, the Vols have faced two of the nation's most explosive offenses in Florida and Cal, but vast improvement is clearly needed.

Tennessee needs to come out and play well this week to silence the critics and appease its distraught fans. Expect the Vols to do just that, as they should beat Arkansas State convincingly.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Tennessee 41, Arkansas State 17