They didn’t need any more motivation.
Last year’s 54-46, four-overtime loss in Fayetteville was like ‘a bad, bad itch,’ Carlton Davis said. They knew how bad it hurt, and that was reason enough to come out firing. But then Arkansas did something that absolutely is not permitted, not even by Auburn.
Before every game, the Tigers form a circle around the logo at midfield to pray. They stay off of the logo, too. Stanton Truitt says it’s their way of saying everything is in God’s hands from that point on.
It’s something they hold dear, and when the Razorbacks were all standing on the logo as Auburn emerged from the tunnel a few hours before kickoff, that sight ‘added fuel to the fire,’ as Deshaun Davis said.
That fire burned white-hot Saturday night, because Auburn throttled Arkansas, 56-3, in every way imaginable. The wire-to-wire demolition set handfuls of Auburn records, and it cemented the Tigers as a team that’s asserted itself as a bonafide force in the SEC West.
Auburn was without Kerryon Johnson, who was still not quite healthy following the ankle injury he suffered two weeks ago. But if coach Gus Malzahn was worried about his running back depth before, he likely won’t be going forward. Even without their starter, the Tigers racked up a jaw-dropping 543 rushing yards, the most by one team in a regular-season SEC game, ever.
“Offensively, we felt our plan was we felt like we had to run the football,” said coach Gus Malzahn. “We were able to run the football, and I thought that was a big thing. I think we had 543 yards rushing against that bunch, which is really good. I told our guys, that was one of the more complete games that I think we’ve played since I’ve been here.”
The offensive line, with Darius James at left tackle and Austin Golson at center, dismantled an Arkansas defensive front that was nursing injuries and hadn’t yet been afforded the luxury of a bye week. Running lanes opened, and when the same play was run again, they stayed open. Pettway notched 192 yards on 27 carries, and he found the end zone twice. By the time he crossed the end zone the first time, though, the game was already won.
In fact, the only points Auburn ended up needing to win were scored on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage.
After the defense forced a punt on Arkansas’ opening drive of the game, freshman receiver Eli Stove took a handoff on a jet sweep, stuck his heel in the ground and turned upfield. He sprinted 78 yards into the end zone, untouched, to put Auburn on top for good. And there was still 11 minutes to go in the first quarter.
Sean White wasn’t his usual efficient self, but he didn’t need to be. He only threw for 77 yards, but 45 of those were from a single wide-open pass to Truitt. In another game, the lack of a passing game might’ve cost Auburn, but Saturday, any pass White threw was almost unnecessary.
"It seemed like every play we were calling was just working," White said. "That’s thanks to the o-line, thanks to the running backs, everybody. Everybody was contributing. It was just a fun day."
For the final 56 minutes following Stove’s touchdown, the Tigers took whatever they wanted. Arkansas had no answer for whatever Malzahn threw at the defense, and Kevin Steele’s defense choked the life out of an Arkansas team that boasted the SEC’s leading rusher and passer.
Rawleigh Williams entered Saturday’s game with 763 rushing yards, but Auburn’s vicious defensive line limited him to 22 yards on 13 carries, and he was the Hogs’ leading rusher for the game. Arkansas’ only option was to throw the ball, and while Austin Allen picked up 187 yards through the air, he never had a clean pocket to work from.
He was sacked three times, all in the first half, he was hurried 15 times on dropbacks, and he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of the game for a series.
No matter what they tried, the Razorbacks just couldn’t get anything going. Auburn’s stifling defense — which didn’t allow a touchdown in a conference game for the first time since 2011 against Florida — suffocated Arkansas until the game was well beyond being out of reach.
It culminated in the most dominant win Auburn’s had against a conference foe in a long, long while — 46 years, in fact. The 53-point win is the second-most in an SEC game since the Tigers pounded Mississippi State 56-0 in 1970, and the margin of victory was the most lopsided Auburn has won by over a ranked opponent — ever.
Just a month and a half ago, Auburn’s season looked on the ropes. Losses to Clemson and Texas A&M had the Tigers staring a lost season in the face. Now, though, it looks entirely different.
“This has shown that we’ve put those losses behind us, and we just need to keep pushing,” said linebacker Tre’ Williams. “Those two losses haven’t defined our team, so we’ll just continue to push and we’ll win at the end of the season.”
Auburn is hungry. It’s felt disrespected all year, and the Tigers have flipped that into anger, which has turned into wins. They’ve got all the fire they need to keep going.
Anything else is just added motivation.
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