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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn offense adjusts, bludgeons Razorbacks late in decisive victory

<p>Seth Williams (18) hauls in a touchdown during Auburn at Arkansas on Oct. 19, 2019, in Fayetteville, Ark.</p>

Seth Williams (18) hauls in a touchdown during Auburn at Arkansas on Oct. 19, 2019, in Fayetteville, Ark.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Auburn offense struggled at Florida. That’s no secret. 

But coming off a bye week, the Tigers were looking to make a statement, and they did so quickly in a 51-10 win over Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville.

The Tigers started off hot as Bo Nix scored on a 4-yard quarterback keeper on the first possession. Then Shaun Shivers was able to score on a 6-yard jet sweep. 

From there, the offense began to fizzle. Anders Carlson hit from 44 to end the first quarter and the offense didn’t score again until late in the third quarter.

Specifically, Auburn struggled in some third-and-short situations. On third-and-one in the first half, Joey Gatewood came in for a QB draw and was stopped short. Following a review of the play, Gatewood ran the same play on fourth down, this time being blown up in the backfield. 

“It was a stupid call,” head coach Gus Malzahn admitted after the game.

Not only was third-and-short an issue, but Nix also struggled in the first half. He was 4-for-9 passing for 45 yards. There were two errant throws that could’ve been intercepted.

“We didn’t do too well in the second quarter. We moved the ball, but we couldn’t score,” Nix said. “It was a combination of things, you do it as a quarterback, you throw incompletions.” 

For the Tigers, Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams led the way in receiving, with 90 and 73 yards, respectively. They combined for three receiving touchdowns in the second half.

“We just came out in the second half and made adjustments,” Williams said.

Going into a matchup with LSU next weekend, getting some momentum was important for the Tigers. After halftime the offense seemingly flipped a switch. Nix went 8-for-8 with 131 yards and three touchdowns, while the offense went on to score 34. 

“It was good, you could feel like would happen. It was a bye week so it took some time to get started back up,” Williams said. 

“In the third quarter we came back and took some shots and we hit them,” Nix added. “That’s what opened up the running game for us.”

Schwartz was a guy the Tigers were looking to get more involved. Schwartz caught six passes for 73 yards and a touchdown to go with two rushing attempts for 30 yards.

“It was really big being able to contribute to the team and finding ways to get me the ball and put me on the field a lot more,” Schwartz said.

Following Boobee Whitlow’s knee surgery, the Tigers were looking for someone to step up and fill that role. Kam Martin, D.J. Williams, Shaun Shivers and Harold Joiner all played different roles as Auburn ran for 298 yards.

Martin was able to rush for 84 yards on 10 carries while Williams ran for 48 yards on 11 carries. Williams got one carry in the first half but ran 10 times in the second half.

“D.J's a baller man, he’s a freshman and a young kid who’s very humble and he comes to practice each day and works,” Martin said. “D.J. is gonna touch the ball a lot going forward. It was good to see him touch the ball today.”

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As the senior running back on the roster, Martin was also asked to talk pregame.

“It meant a lot, these guys they look up to me. I just wanted to let the guys know its time to get back to playing Auburn football,” Martin said. 

After a run to the Final Four where the Tigers basketball team stepped up when Chuma Okeke got hurt and “Do it for Chuma” became the team motto, Martin said they were looking to “Do it for Boobee.”

With games against LSU, Georgia and Alabama still remaining, the Tigers will look to build off a strong offensive performance in the second half and learn from their mistakes. 

“Let’s go make this stretch, just like we did in 2017,” Martin said. 


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