​We said it during the past week: Moral victories are not what teams or athletes play for. You play to win, and Arkansas didn’t win. This makes the 24-17 loss to Tennessee a clear disappointment. Yet, because this season has been so deeply frustrating and disillusioning at times, Arkansas just needed to feel something other than (and beyond) rock-bottom helplessness. The Hogs needed to leave the field with different emotions and a different outlook. This game achieved those modest goals. It’s not a victory, but it is progress, and it’s something we will be talking about over the next few days.We are definitely going to offer criticism for Ryan Silverfield and his staff for some of the decisions made in this game. We are definitely not going to let this coaching staff off the hook. However, the first and most immediate reaction to this game is – and should be – one of increased optimism. That might not seem satisfying to anyone, and it probably shouldn’t, but given where UA was last week, it is real progress.Arkansas’ third quarter, in which the Hogs scored two touchdowns against the Tennessee defense, was easily the best quarter of offense the Razorbacks have played all year. It was easily the best this offensive line has looked all year. For at least one quarter, Arkansas played offense in a way which suggested this team can actually achieve something and be better than what everyone had been led to expect based on the dreary performances against Utah, Georgia, and Texas A&M. Arkansas became more than just Chris Marshall on offense. Arkansas found a Plan B which might become Plan A as the season goes on. There is something for the Hogs to genuinely build on when they play offense – we did not have this after the previous SEC games or the Utah game. This was and is different. The conversation surrounding this offense isn’t entirely the same anymore. The defense gave up some crucial downfield plays to Tennessee, and we aren’t going to ignore that. However, this unit also made a lot of big plays as well. It came up with multiple interceptions, a fumble recovery and return, and generally contained the Vols for most of the day, giving the team a chance in the first half while the offense failed to score. This defense can get better, and moreover, it needs to be better, but this side of the ball still did most of the work and did many positive things to give the Hogs an opportunity to win.Arkansas didn’t get blown out. It is a low bar, we know, but at least this team and program aren’t stuck in the same old spin cycle of having nothing good to talk about after an SEC game. This was different. Now it’s a matter of raising the bar even more in the coming weeks.