AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers (2-1) will kick off their SEC season when they host the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1). New QB Hank Brown and the new-look Tigers will look to build on last year's 3-5 SEC record. One of the three conference wins a year ago was against this Razorback team in a game where they put up a season second-best 48 points beating the Razorbacks 48-10 in Fayetteville. Now Arkansas comes to the plains and the Tigers will look to limit a high-powered, reshaped Arkansas offensive threat.
The Tigers are coming off a win against New Mexico where quarterback Hank Brown made his first career start, taking over for former starter Payton Thorne. Brown threw for four touchdowns in his full debut adding 17 completions on 25 attempts for an efficient 235 yards, finding 10 different receivers in the impressive performance. Brown will look to replicate the performance against an Arkansas defense that has struggled thus far to slow down opponents.
“I was pleased with his first performance for sure” Head Coach Hugh Freeze had to say of Hank Brown’s first start for Auburn, “next week will be a bigger test for him”.
Jarquez Hunter will also look to leave his mark on the game after a 150-yard performance against New Mexico. The run game will be important to control the pace of the game as Auburn will look to keep a threatening Arkansas offense off the field, a key to this will be Damari Alston who has played somewhat of a second fiddle to Hunter so far but is a massive threat to opponent's defenses in his own right tallying 10 carries for 80 yards in the game against New Mexico.
The unit with the toughest task on Saturday will perhaps be the Auburn defense. The Razorbacks have an offensive unit that threatens defenses in multiple ways with a dynamic run-pass balance that will keep the Tigers on their toes. In their most difficult matchup so far, against 16th-ranked Oklahoma State, the Razorbacks put up 31 points in a double overtime upset bid that fell just short thanks to a late resurgence from the Cowboys. In the losing effort, Razorback quarterback Taylen Green threw for 416 yards and a touchdown paired with an interception while running for over 60 yards despite being sacked three times. Green will look to have the same impact against the tigers.
“What makes them so different is mostly it's typically just been a very good mixture of the pro style offense with that college flare” Coach Freeze said of the razorback offense “if you can get in 12 personnel and be effective in running the ball and take shots out of it that's scary.”
Arkansas doesn't just have one star on the offensive side of the ball. Ja’Quinden Jackson rushed for 149 yards on 24 carries adding three touchdowns in his performance. Complimentary to the run game is the equally impressive passing game, the Razorbacks scheme is dangerous for defenses who do not keep receivers in front of them, leading receiver Andrew Armstrong knows this better than anyone posting 10 catches for 169 yards in the loss to Oklahoma State. The dynamic attack will force the Tigers to be sharp on defense.
Perhaps the most important piece to this game will be ball security, the Tigers recorded five turnovers in the loss to Cal and made a marked improvement relinquishing only two to the Lobos both of which were both fumbles. The turnover battle will be crucial as every possession is valuable against a high-powered offense.
The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium on the Plains. The game will be televised on ESPN. Listen in with the Auburn Sports Network.
