Auburn, AL - The Arkansas Razorbacks were able to put up 520 yards of total offense in their 41-27 victory over the Auburn Tigers.
Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC) hosted Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 SEC) today at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Once again, Auburn had some major flaws exposed.
"Arkansas was a very good team going into this week. Physically, we just got in the area that they did a good job," Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin said. "They ran the ball well, so their kids played hard. They did a good job."
The Razorbacks were able to score 41 points and post 520 yards in the process. Like many of their losses, the second half looked completely different from the first.
"Missed tackles, plain and simple. You get there, you hit him, and you bounce off. So, we’ve just got to get back to the fundamentals of wrapping up, tackling him, like when you go down you go down with a body part." Auburn defensive end Colby Wooden said. "Not just hitting him and bouncing off. Which, honestly, has been the case all year. We haven’t tackled well all year, so we just have to tackle better.”
Auburn did not struggle as badly on the offensive side of the ball as it had previously. The Tigers posted 468 yards of total offense, 285 of them coming through the air. Quarterback Robby Ashford had one of his better days, going 24-33 for 285 yards and one touchdown.
"We didn’t play Auburn football today," Ashford said on the team's performance.
The Tigers gave up 286 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns.
“It is very frustrating. We will go back and watch the tape and see what we messed up. Today's defense did not have their best game. I don’t think I played to my best standard and obviously, that trickles down," Auburn defensive end Derrick Hall said on their rushing defense. "We will go back and see what we have to do better tomorrow.”
The Razorbacks particularly shined in the red zone, going a perfect seven of seven.
"They were perfect in the red zone. And on special teams, that was an area for us to," Harsin said. "We had some opportunities there that didn't go in our favor. And we’ve got to be better in those areas as well."
Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson went 16-24 through the air for 234 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns off of 10 carries.
“He just extends plays when there is no way that he can. He is just so big that they can’t get him down. That was a big, big play in the game," said Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman on Jefferson. "I am really proud of him. He has taken over the leadership of the team more-and-more each week. He had a heck of a game.”
A bright spot for Auburn today was the performance of wide receiver Camden Brown. He caught four passes for 83 yards and one touchdown.
"He kept fighting. I appreciate that. So I wanted to take some time to give him his flowers because he continued to fight. He earned my respect," Wooden said about Brown's performance.
Raheim Sanders gave Auburn a difficult day, rushing for 171 yards off of 16 carries. Matt Landers did the same, catching four passes for a total of 115 yards.
“Just being able to understand Matt and try to get him in a rhythm early. Get his confidence up, because he is extremely hard on himself," Jefferson said about his chemistry with Landers. "Being able to get him in a rhythm early and let him get a feel for the game. Then, I know I can go to Matt in any situation.”
Auburn will have another chance to get things back on the right track next Saturday as they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville, MS.
