If defenders don’t go chasing after the flow and open up something in the other direction, the Tigers will be hard-pressed to produce the big play that has been such an integral part of the Auburn offense the past couple of years. The hour is generally reserved for the least-appealing conference games of the week in the SEC. Bigger games get the later hours – usually primetime. Arkansas has failed to live up to expectations this year, but still nothing like Auburn, who were expected to challenge for the national title. Possible SEC championships, and therefore possible College Football Playoff spots, were in the balance.
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Coming off a 30-27 win at Kentucky, the Tigers know how important that victory was for this team.
And despite any lingering disappointment following a first half of the season that saw Arkansas fall from the Top 25 to the bottom of the SEC, Bielema isn’t looking ahead to the possibility of reaching a bowl game for the second straight year.
Arkansas (2-4, 1-2 SEC) enters the game with a losing record, but coach Gus Malzahn is urging his team not to take the Razorbacks lightly. Auburn has three ranked teams and Georgia.
He is doing something Gus Malzahn likes over the last three games and that is limiting turnovers. Because it’s where, as a high school coach, he certainly thought one day, ‘Wouldn’t that be like the dream job, to coach Arkansas?’ “He high-pointed the ball, and he helped us win tonight”. “We’re finding our rhythm on offense and defense…and that’s what it takes to win”. No doubt Arkansas will be eager to play even with the early morning kickoff. The game has been circled in households ever since.
Bielema and Malzahn didn’t fan the flames of their smoldering rivalry this week, perhaps because both of their teams are in need of a pick-me-up after sluggish starts. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp can say he’s “not a big stat guy”, but he made a point this week to say Kentucky only averages 2.6 yards a rush if you eliminate Boom Williams’ 60-yard run.
“Road games in the SEC are hard to come by”, Malzahn said. The Tigers were actually picked to win the entire SEC.
“There is a few carryover, but not as much as one would probably think”, Bielema said. “From our point of view offensively going against their defense, they’re just so much different from where they were a year ago. It’s nearly like a clean matchup of two new coaches or two new programs”. Johnson threw six interceptions in his 72 attempts.
Neither Johnson nor Sean White took a snap in the first three games, but there they were at Kentucky, with Johnson taking a handful on direct snaps, and White playing the role as the regular quarterback. And while he has just one interception in 65 throws, he also has zero touchdowns.
Now Auburn looked as if it rediscovered its pace at Kentucky.
Saturday’s game could turn into a shoot out with the outcome falling on White’s shoulders. His 650 rushing yards are behind only four healthy SEC players, including Arkansas’ Alex Collins.
Alabama stud Derrick Henry had to earn that 95 yards against the Razorbacks two weeks ago as he averaged just 3.5 yards a carry in the 27-14 win in Tuscaloosa. Forty-four of those came on the ground. The Tigers own a 12-10-1 record against the Razorbacks since Arkansas joined the conference in 1992.
On the opposite sideline, Arkansas’ defense has also been a disappointment thus far.
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Instead, it’s likely this game will determine which of the two teams finishes in the cellar of the division. And while it’s a long way from where they wanted to be, it would buy a little more time in the rebuild. He’s getting used to carrying the football more too, with more carries.
