This weekend, the Auburn Tigers will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on another familiar foe in the Arkansas Razorbacks. Both opponents will enter Saturday in dire need of a victory after having to endure countless struggles so far this season.
Auburn will go into the weekend with a 3-4 record after a heart-wrenching 23-17 defeat against Missouri last Saturday and is still seeking its first SEC win of the year. Head coach Hugh Freeze’s role has been hot for the last month to say the least, and the headlines are looking like this weekend should be a must-win game for Freeze’s future at the Plains. The Tigers have only found five conference wins with Freeze as their leader, but Arkansas looks to be one of the SEC opponents that Auburn should have a winning chance against despite struggling.
“We're gonna come to work Monday and get our kids ready to play Arkansas,” Freeze said. “These kids are playing their guts out. I know that we've changed the talent level here, but at the end of the day, at some point, you have to win football games."
The head coaching storylines have been revolving around Fayetteville, as Arkansas made the move to fire their head coach, Sam Pittman, after a 56-13 loss against Notre Dame dropped the team’s record to 2-3 on the season. Former Arkansas and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino stepped in as the team’s interim coach, and although he has not claimed a win since, the Razorbacks have looked extremely impressive in their two matches against ranked opponents.
Although Arkansas will carry a 5-game losing streak into the weekend, the Razorbacks' offense has seemed unstoppable, scoring 31.6 points per game in their winless stretch. Their offense, led by Senior Taylen Green, ranks fourth nationally and averages just over 7.5 yards per play, a full 2.5 yards more than Auburn on average. While the Razorbacks' playmakers have gotten a lot of attention over the season, their defense has seemed to be their Achilles’ heel as they rank 124th in the nation for total defense. Arkansas has let up over 40 points per game, leaving Auburn fans hopeful that this is the week Jackson Arnold and the Tigers can break out offensively.
The Tigers have found themselves victorious more often than not against Arkansas, holding a 20-13-1 all-time record while going 7-2 in their last 9 clashes. While on the road at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Auburn has fared well, winning two of its three games, so Freeze’s team will aim to keep up the winning traditions while away.
All hopes and statistics show that this should be the week, if any, for Freeze’s squad to break out of their conference slump, and it needs to be the week they do. Doubts will be answered as we kick things off at 11:45 A.M. CST inside Razorback Stadium. Arkansas is currently favored by 2.5 points, and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
"I know we're close and I know we'll get it over the hump,” Freeze pleaded. “At some point, they're going to start going our way."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Will is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @willdembo
