FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— Auburn's defense showed up Saturday.
The Tigers held the Razorback offense to 234 yards of total offense, generating a total of four turnovers, in a 51-10 victory over division foe Arkansas to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Defensive linemen Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson led the way in Saturday's dominating performance. Davidson recorded five tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and was credited with one quarterback hurry. Brown finished with five tackles, three of them being solo tackles. Davidson also forced and recovered a fumble in the first half.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said after the game that the success this defense sees stems from the work in the trenches. The staff also said it was part of the plan to rotate guys in and out frequently, but anytime you have playmakers like seniors Brown and Davidson, it helps out.
“Marlon is a guy that can affect the game himself from a d-line position. He did that today. He’s done it before,” Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele told the Auburn Network. “That’s just the kind of player he is. We’re fortunate we’ve got a group in that room if it’s not one of them, it will be the other one.”
The Tigers held Arkansas to just 52 rushing yards and kept Rakeem Boyd in check, bottling the lead back to just 39 yards.
“Nobody can pick who they’re gonna block," Davidson said. "You slide your protection to Derrick, I’m liable to make a play. You slide it to me, Derrick is going to make a play.”
Auburn's defense has brought home three SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week awards, with Davidson grabbing two by himself. Davidson very well could win the honors this week and acknowledged that there is competition in the locker room every week to see who will get crowned.
Brown acknowledged that there was, in fact, an ongoing competition between the two, however admitted that he probably outperformed today.
“He got two sacks today, so he probably got the award, so I’ll give it to him.”
Auburn (6-1) faces undefeated, No. 2 LSU next weekend in Death Valley.
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