This season, The Plainsman will make staff picks of Auburn's weekly matchups. Also look for our selections for the national showdowns in the "Plainsman Pick 'Em" section in the print edition of our publication.
Here are our picks for Arkansas at No. 9 Auburn (6:30 p.m. CST, SEC Network).
Nathan King, sports editor:
Gus Malzahn loves to beat Arkansas.
Over the past two seasons, the Tigers have outscored the Razorbacks 108-23, and this matchup is no different in terms of talent differential.
I see Arkansas hanging around in the first half simply due to Auburn being gassed after the LSU loss. Jarrett Stidham should notch himself some scores before being taken out mid-third quarter.
It should be interesting to see who emerges as the top rusher, as well as who will start. I expect Shaun Shivers to receive the bulk of the carries into the second half, but Kam Martin should get looks as well.
Defensively, Auburn will be too much for quarterback Ty Storey. Chad Morris' offense hasn't shown much through the first three weeks. Don't expect this to change on the road against one of the best defenses in the conference.
Prediction: Auburn 45, Arkansas 14.
Tyler Roush, assistant sports editor:
Arkansas has had some quarterback trouble through three games this season.
The Razorback corps combine for the second-most interceptions this season, with six coming in one game alone. Ty Storey earned the starting spot for Saturday despite not playing in a 44-17 loss to North Texas.
Chad Morris has tried to rely on Devwah Whaley in the backfield as the running back has the Razorback's lone 100-yard rushing game this season. Odds are Whaley will pair with Maleek Williams, who finished with 74 yards on 14.8 yards per rush in the loss to the Mean Green.
Jarrett Stidham should look to combine with Boobee Whitlow to expose a faulty Razorback defense. Against Arkansas, opponents have completed 61 percent of passes for 900 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Combing off a two-interception day against LSU, Stidham can bounce back in style.
Prediction: Auburn 41, Arkansas 20
Cole McCauley, sports writer:
It's often difficult to rebound from the kind of loss that Auburn suffered last weekend. However, the fact remains, if Auburn wins out (however likely that may be), theres almost a guarantee they'll secure a place in the playoff.
With that being said, Auburn faces off against an Arkansas squad that took a 44-17 beatdown from North Texas and fell short against Colorado State the week before.
First year head coach has a lot of work to do if he wants to bring the Razorbacks back into the national spotlight and this game can go two ways for the Tigers: they let last weeks loss affect them, come out sluggish and defeated and play sloppily or, like last year, the Auburn offense turns on the burners and proves themselves as the vastly more talented team.
I'm going with the latter option, expect Boobee Whitlow to secure his spot as Auburn's No. 1 back and for Jarrett Stidham to rebound from a two interception game against a defense that allowed Colorado State to air the ball out for nearly 400 yards.
An angry and aggressive Auburn team is what fans expect and Gus Malzahn knows that.
Prediction: Auburn 44, Arkansas 17
Zach Tantillo, sports reporter:
Once again, the Auburn Tigers find themselves coming off a collapsing loss to LSU with a matchup against Arkansas on the horizon.
Auburn dismantled Arkansas last season and there isn’t much of a reason that a similar result shouldn’t happen on Saturday. The Tigers have talked all week about incorporating more explosive plays into the offense and the Razorbacks are the perfect opponent that can get that aspect of the offense going. In their loss against North Texas, the Razorbacks allowed five passes go for at least 25 yards.
Arkansas will also be a good opponent for Auburn to build some confidence in the secondary after the Razorbacks tossed six interceptions last week and quarterback Ty Storey getting his first start against SEC competition.
Auburn wins this one easily and fine tunes the weak areas on both sides of the ball.
Prediction: Auburn 56, Arkansas 13
Jake Wright, sports writer:
Auburn is coming off a heartbreaking loss to LSU, while Arkansas is coming off a second consecutive loss to a group of five opponent. Arkansas is in the midst of a major scheme change on the offensive side of the ball. Former coach Bret Bielema ran a pro style type of offense, while Arkansas is now trying to install a fast paced spread system under Chad Morris.
Arkansas was humiliated last week at home against North Texas. Ty Storey will be making his first start against a SEC team and will have to deal with Auburn's monster defensive line. I expect Arkansas to struggle on offense. On offense for Auburn, I think that it is crucial for the offensive line to gain chemistry and handle the line of scrimmage. It will be interesting to see if Nick Brahms or Kaleb Kim starts at center.
I do not think this game will be very competitive. The last time Arkansas visited Jordan Hare Stadium, Auburn throttled the Hogs by a score of 56-3. It will be a similar outcome this week.
Prediction: Auburn 45, Arkansas 10
Sumner Martin, sports writer:
Both Arkansas and Auburn will be looking for redemption Saturday.=
Fresh off a last-second defeat at home to LSU, No. 9 Auburn is in desperate need of a bounce-back win to get the season back on track. Arkansas, who was beaten 44-17 by North Texas in Fayetteville last weekend, is just looking to be competitive.
Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, the Tigers are going to be more motivated than usual on Saturday after blowing a lead to LSU, again. The spread is just about four touchdowns, and that’s how I see this game playing out.
Auburn has too much talent across the board for this game to be close. I expect the defense to come out and play much better, specifically in the secondary. Stidham will rebound from his poor performance, and Whitlow will continue to emerge as the feature back.
Prediction: Auburn 45, Arkansas 10
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