The bye week is over. Auburn got a much-needed break, a chance to bandage up and pivot into the second half of the season, but up next on the docket is No. 17 Arkansas, a team that’s riding a tidal wave of emotion after a thrilling win over Ole Miss.
It’s the first game Auburn will play as a ranked team since the third game of 2015. It’s also the first crack Auburn gets at Arkansas since the Tigers’ heartbreaking 4OT loss to the Razorbacks in Fayetteville last year.
Dropped passes were the thread that caused Auburn to come undone that game: the Tigers let eight balls hit the ground, including one by Ricardo Louis that would’ve scored a touchdown in the fourth overtime.
There are undoubtedly unpleasant memories associated with that game for Auburn, but the Tigers aren’t letting it cloud their preparation, even if there is a little bit of the revenge factor added in.
"Well, there's no more added motivation,” said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. “We, obviously, and again, give them credit, we didn't execute to the level in the areas we needed to to win that football game. They had a lot to do with that. From that standpoint, yeah. We need to kind of redeem ourselves to some degree.”
Auburn has put itself in prime position to reverse that outcome this year. Sean White has found his groove behind the wheel of the offense — he ranks ninth in the country in passing efficiency, connecting on 69.7 percent of his passes in the first six games.
And his receivers, who couldn’t make the catches when it counted a year ago, have been an asset. So what changed?
The JUGS machine, for one. Lashlee said the receivers had been on the automatic pass-throwing machine ‘probably more than we ever have.’ And Kodi Burns, in his first year as Auburn’s receivers coach, has been the other major contributing factor.
“Yeah, Kodi, he pretty much gets on us about that a lot,” said senior Tony Stevens. “He really got on it in the spring. He said when he came over here that receivers aren't going to drop the ball. He's been doing a lot of ball drills with us. That plays a big part in it, too. Coach Kodi has been doing a good job.”
Auburn opened the week as a two-score favorite over Arkansas, but the Razorbacks clearly weren’t bothered by the 7.5 points Ole Miss was favored over them by a week ago, so being the favorite shouldn’t matter.
What will matter is playing sound, efficient football, and above all else, executing.
“They did a good job last year,” Lashlee said. “Credit them for keeping us from executing at the level we needed to to win the football game. That’s our challenge this week: They are what they are on defense; we are what we are on offense. I think both sides know that to a large degree, so I think it’s going to be who plays the best and executes the best, and catching the football is part of that.”
And should the game come down to a last-minute drive — as it did at the end of regulation a year ago — White, and his receivers, won’t be fazed.
“Sean, the one thing Sean did last year that I think helped him grow a little bit was that 2-minute drive,” Lashlee said. “You know, we're down by 3, we've got 57 seconds to go. We even got a penalty and had a 10-second runoff. He hits two big passes to get us in range to kick the field goal. And then, in overtime, we score a little bit here.
“So that was kind of, I think, when he grew up in pressure situations. That's when you knew the moment's not going to be too big for us.”
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