FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Josh Heupel said Tennessee’s defense let Arkansas score the go-ahead touchdown with one minute, 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter Saturday night to give the Vols a chance to win the game on the following possession.

Arkansas backup quarterback Malachi Singleton ran for an 11-yard touchdown on the first play after a timeout to put the Razorbacks up for good in the 19-14 stunner against the fourth-ranked Vols.

“Yeah, at the very end of it, just with the clock timeout situations that we had,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference, “trying to give ourselves a chance to go answer.”

Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) had two timeouts left when Singleton scored. The Vols used their first timeout on the opening possession of the second half. 

The Arkansas game-winning drive went 59 yards in just four plays, with Singleton throwing for 13 yards on first down and Braylen Russell running for 24 yards on second down. Russell rush for 11 yards on the next snap, getting the Hogs down to the 11 before they took a timeout. 

Singleton scored on the following play. 

‘That situation, you can’t keep the ball in your hands’

Tennessee got the ball at the 25 after the ensuing kickoff. Nico Iamaleava threw incomplete on first down, ran for eight yards on third down and threw a 42-yard pass to Dont’e Thornton on third-and-2.

Dylan Sampson ran for five yards after he caught a bobbled snap on second down, after an Iamaleava incompletion on first-and-10 at the Arkansas 25. He threw incomplete to Chas Nimrod on third-and-five.

On fourth-and-five with six seconds left, Iamaleava was flushed left out of the pocket and was ran out of bounds at the 16-yard line as time expired. 

Heupel said the final play was “a full concept read” for Iamaleava. 

“He ended up scrambling off of it,” Heupel said. “End of the day, in that scenario, you got to get the ball up and give one of your guys an opportunity to go make a play. Nico, just like me, and just like our football team, wishes that we had played better. 

“That situation, you can’t keep the ball in your hands. You want to give somebody an opportunity to go make a play.” 

Up Next: Tennessee vs. Florida, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Iamaleava completed 16 of 28 passes for 156 yards. The Vols rushed 36 times for 176 yards, with Sampson going for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Tennessee trailed 3-0 at halftime after gaining just 76 total yards in the first half. The Vols went on a 75-yard scoring drive to start the second half, sparked by a 53-yard Sampson run. They went 60 yards on six plays for another Sampson touchdown after forcing an Arkansas three-and-out. 

From there, the Vols ended the game with four straight punts and turnover on downs when time expired. 

“(Iamaleava is) disappointed with it,” Heupel said, “but he’s got to come back and bounce back from it. He’s played way too good not to respond the right way. And I know he will.”

An investigation is underway into a deadly shooting outside of a Wawa store in Delaware County, according to officials with the Collingdale Police Department.

It happened at the Wawa on the 900 block of MacDade Boulevard in Collingdale on Saturday, Oct. 5, officials said.

Police told NBC10 that an argument between two women outside of the Wawa led up to one woman shooting the other.

The identities of the people involved have not been revealed yet.

This is a breaking news story. Check back here for updates.

CNN
 — 

Communities in Florida are being urged to prepare for a potential Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico just days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state – killing at least 20 people in Florida, leaving thousands without power and paving a trail of wreckage.

While the state is still clearing debris from Helene – which made landfall September 26 on Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 and created a 500-mile path of destruction with catastrophic flooding and damaging winds – it’s now contending with Tropical Storm Milton.

The storm is expected to “quickly intensify while it moves eastward to northeastward across the Gulf of Mexico and be at or near major hurricane strength when it reaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula mid week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

“The big question is how quickly and by how much will the storm intensify,” the hurricane center said.

Milton is projected to make landfall in Florida at up to Category 3 strength with 115 mph winds. On Sunday, hurricane and storm surge watches will likely be issued for parts of the Florida coast – with dangerous storm surge expected for some areas just slammed by Helene.

“Regardless of the details, there is increasing confidence that a powerful hurricane with life-threatening hazards will be affecting portions of the Florida west coast around the middle of next week,” the hurricane center said, adding that rainfall will impact parts of Florida Sunday and Monday.

Milton formed in the western Gulf on Saturday morning, just hours after it became a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said in a special alert. The 13th named storm is running weeks ahead of schedule as it doesn’t usually occur until October 25.

“The official intensity forecasts call for Milton to become a hurricane in about 36 hours, and a major hurricane by 72 hours,” the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.

The quickly strengthening storm could bring life-threatening impacts to parts of the west coast of Florida beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday. With very low vertical wind shear and incredibly warm sea-surface temperatures, Milton will be able to gain steady to rapid strength over the next few days.

In preparation for the storm, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 35 counties Saturday, according to a release from his office. The storm could prolong recovery efforts from Helene and impact Florida Gulf Coast communities still recuperating from Helene, the release said.

“As many continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, I have directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Transportation to coordinate all available personnel and resources to supplement local communities as they expedite debris removal in impacted areas,” DeSantis said in a social media post Saturday. “We will continue staging state assets to prepare for efficient search and rescue, power restoration, and roadway clearing.”

Heavy rain is a growing concern, the hurricane center says. “Rainfall amounts of 5 to 8 inches, with localized totals up to 12 inches, are expected across portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night,” the center said. “This rainfall will bring the risk of flash, urban, and areal flooding, along with minor to moderate river flooding.”

There is also an increasing risk of storm surge for the western Florida Peninsula as early as late Tuesday or Wednesday. Damaging winds, tornadoes and waterspouts will also be possible next week.

It’s only been a little over a week since Helene slammed the state, but officials across Florida are already asking residents to prepare for another potentially life-threatening storm as many are still in recovery mode.

“Here we go again,” said the police department in Naples, Florida, adding heavy rainfall and flooding concerns will increase starting Sunday through the middle of next week. Authorities urged residents not to drive on streets with water over them.

Once again, Florida’s emergency officials find themselves announcing sandbag distribution sites. Multiple sandbag locations will be open in counties preparing for potential storm impacts, the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Saturday.

The town of Fort Myers Beach warned residents “to stay vigilant and prepared,” and said residents could pick up sandbags at the town hall.

“Those that live in the areas prone to flooding, please be aware that the Town’s stormwater system will not alleviate water breaching the seawalls from the back bay,” the town said in a Facebook post.

In the city of Sanibel, which received more than 50 inches of rainfall prior to the storm surge flooding caused by Helene, residents and business owners have been urged to begin preparing for impacts from the storm “as soon as possible.”

“Residents and business owners should anticipate Tropical Storm or Hurricane Milton will likely bring flooding to Sanibel,” the city said in a news release Saturday. “Residents and business owners who are in low-lying areas of Sanibel, or who may not feel safe in their structure during a storm, should consider finding alternative accommodations in advance of the storm’s arrival.”

Since Helene hit the city, crews have worked throughout the island to clear storm drains and debris and manage weirs to increase storage capacity of storm water, the city said.

Sanibel officials encouraged residents to clear debris from drainage areas near their homes or businesses before any heavy rainfall.

Another area in the potential path of Milton is Pinellas County, which reported more than 28,000 properties had been damaged or destroyed by Helene. Officials said it’s too early to tell how Milton will impact the county, but residents could prepare by picking up sandbags at county sites starting Sunday.

As part of an effort to clear debris caused by Helene, the governor ordered “Disaster Debris Management Sites and landfills in all counties impacted by Hurricane Helene to remain open and allow twenty-four hour debris drop off,” the Saturday news release from his office said. That’s part of the state’s effort to ensure as much debris from Helene is cleaned up and disposed of ahead of the impending storm, the release said.

In hard-hit Pinellas County, where thousands of homes have been wrecked or obliterated by Helene, displaced residents who are picking up the pieces may soon have to endure another storm.

“Some of us cry, some of us hug each other, and then we just put our big girl panties on and keep going,” St. Petersburg resident Debbie Bright told CNN affiliate WFTS. Her home has been destroyed and everything she owns is now in a 5-by-10-foot storage unit, she said.

Bright said she was in complete shock when she saw the devastation in her neighborhood.

“I have four grandchildren and this is the only place they’ve ever known and they come in. And they are crying because this was nanny and papi’s house,” Bright said.

Bright stayed in Palm Harbor during the storm, but the storm surge came through her backdoor and pulled much of her furniture into the bay, she said.

“We are on day number seven here and when I got here this morning, I sat in a chair and we cried, and then we are ok and then we cry again,” Bright told WFTS.

The only thing keeping her community going is having supportive neighbors, Bright said. All she can hope for at this point is that her community recovers quickly.

“It’s kind of one hour at a time, one day at a time,” Bright said.