Auburn begins week four with its first SEC game of the season against the Arkansas Razorbacks at home. With Oklahoma and Georgia looming over the Tigers shoulder, this week is a chance for the Tigers to secure a win and build momentum for what is to come in conference play.
The Razorbacks are 2-1 to start the year with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, in which they dominated 70-0, and UAB, winning 37-27.
In between these games they played against No .17 Oklahoma State losing a close game in a double overtime. The Razorbacks were up 21-7 at the half and blew their lead in the second half, giving up 21 straight points to tie it up and send the matchup to overtime at the end of regulation. They then traded missed field goals in the first overtime, gave up a rushing touchdown to start double OT then got stopped on fourth-and-1 to lose on the ensuing possession.
In its first three games, Arkansas has shown immense improvement since a 4-8 season last year.
Offense:
The Razorbacks are led by transfer dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green who came to Arkansas from Boise State. Green is listed at 6-foot-6 inch 230 pounds and is a longer and more athletic runner than a pure power runner. He has totaled 806 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and two interceptions on the year.
Green also adds the running element to his game with 245 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. He is a dual-threat quarterback but is not the most polished passer. He has a 56% completion percentage on the year which is near the bottom of the SEC.
The Razorbacks receiving core is made up of senior receiver Andrew Armstrong who is Green's top and main target and is in the top-15 in the country in receiving yards. Armstrong is a big-time outside receiver who does not go down easily and does a lot of damage after the catch.
Along with him on the outside is Isaiah Sategna and Tyrone Broden who each have over 100 yards on the year so far. They also feature tight end Luke Hasz who has one touchdown catch on the year.
The run game is where Arkansas makes its most movement. It is led by senior Utah transfer Ja'Quinden Jackson, a big powerback who has started the season with three straight 100-yard rushing games, has 397 rushing yards this season and 8.7 yards per carry with six touchdowns through three games.
Jackson also has five catches for 49 yards receiving. The backfield of Jackson and Green is a vital piece of the Arkansas offense with the read options and run pass options seeming to always go for chunk plays. Backup Rodney Hill will also get some touches out of the backfield where he has been efficient.
The Razorbacks have one of the best running offenses in the country, ranking 11th in rushing yards per game and first in rushing touchdowns.
Defense:
The Arkansas defense is led by defensive end Landon Jackson, who was voted second team preseason All-American, and transfer linebacker Xavien Sorey Jr. from Georgia, who has a sack and three tackles for loss on the year. Sorey is also among the leading tacklers on the team with safety TJ Metcalf right behind him.
The Arkansas defense has five sacks on the year and two interceptions and has given up 22 points per game and 289.7 total yards per game on the season. Their front seven and ability to stop the run is their bread and butter, only allowing 61.7 rushing yards per game, which is in the top-10 in the country.
What to Expect:
To begin, Arkansas rushing attack will be difficult to stop, but the Auburn front has done a good job of neutralizing the run game so far this year outside of some hiccups against New Mexico.
Last week, the dual-threat ability of Devon Dampier affected the Auburn defense and opened lanes for running back Eli Sanders. Expect the Razorbacks to run Taylen Green and Ja'Quinden Jackson more often than New Mexico did their backfield. Arkansas will run the ball as much as they can to tire down the Auburn defensive line and open some lanes in the passing game.
Auburn should be able to force Green into some mistakes with their ability to put pressure on the quarterback in the passing game. Taylen Green isn’t the most sound passer, but he likes making throws in the short and intermediate passing game. Arkansas never really tries to take too many shots down the field. They rely on their receivers yards after catch ability for big plays. This means tackling and tackling in space specifically will be huge for Auburn. One thing to keep an eye on is Arkansas has somewhat of a fumbling problem with seven fumbles on the year but only losing two of them.
The key for Auburn here will be doing their best to find a way to stop the run and by forcing Taylen Green to beat them in the air and getting pressure early and often to him.
Arkansas run defense is about as good as it gets so the Auburn offensive line better be ready for a battle up front. Jarquez Hunter still needs to be a huge factor for Auburn to have success because the run game will open a lot for Hank Brown in the passing game. This will also take some pressure off Hank Brown who will be appearing in his first career SEC game.
The Razorback defense runs a whole lot of man to man so look for Auburn to try and exploit that with quick slants and with some shots down the sideline to Keandre Lambert Smith, Camden Brown and hopefully a healthy Cam Coleman who could be the difference maker in this one. If Hank Brown can continue his play from last week against New Mexico, the Tigers could be in a really good spot.
This game will be a war in the trenches with both teams leaning on the run so heavily and being so good at stopping the run. Whichever team finds a way to dominate the run game or have success elsewhere should be in a good spot. Ultimately this game will come down to whoever wins the turnover battle and capitalizes on the others mistakes.
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Jack is a sophomore majoring in sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
