The third time was the charm for Auburn, which picked up its first win of the season against a ranked opponent in its third try. The Tigers did it on the road, no less.
Auburn knocked off No. 17 Arkansas, 38-23, on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. It was the program’s first top-25 win under head coach Bryan Harsin, and it was the team’s sixth straight against Arkansas. It also came at a key juncture of the season, sending the Tigers into the bye week on a high note.
Before Auburn regroups and relaxes for a hard-earned bye week, let’s revisit Saturday’s performance with some position-by-position grades for the Tigers against the Razorbacks:
Quarterbacks: A
Bo Nix’s struggles throughout his career, both on the road and against quality opponents, have been well-documented. On Saturday, at least, those issues became an afterthought as Nix put together what was easily the best road performance of his career, given that Arkansas entered the game ranked 17th in the nation. Nix completed 21-of-26 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. He was in total control for much of the game, with his lone error a third-down interception on a shot downfield. While Nix did most of his damage through the air, two plays with his legs sealed the game in the fourth for Auburn. The junior has been solid the last three weeks, responding in a big way following that second-half benching against Georgia State.
Running backs: C
Arkansas entered the game having allowed nearly 600 rushing yards over the last two games. It seemed as though Auburn’s backfield was primed for a big day in Fayetteville, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Tank Bigsby had just 68 yards on 18 carries, averaging 3.8 yards per carry, while scoring a touchdown from a yard out. Jarquez Hunter had 10 carries for just 27 yards. The Tigers’ run game struggled to get things going for much of the day, though Auburn found some success running the ball when it needed to milk some clock in the fourth quarter.
Wide receivers: A
What a bounceback effort from Auburn’s receiving corps. The unit has struggled with consistency and drops throughout the season, but the receivers put it all together Saturday to help raise the ceiling of the Tigers’ passing attack. Five different wide receivers registered a catch, with Shedrick Jackson leading the way with five for 61 yards. Demetris Robertson had two for 81 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown from Nix. Ja’Varrius Johnson got Auburn on the board on the opening drive with a 39-yard touchdown reception. It was just an overall more complete and cohesive performance from a receiving corps that has been under much scrutiny this season.
Tight ends: B
Auburn didn’t have the kind of drop issues it experienced a week ago against Georgia, but there were a couple apparent ones from the tight ends, with Landen King failing to hold onto a third-down pass for a chunk play and Luke Deal unable to hold onto a first-down pass from Nix on what was admittedly a difficult play (with Nix rolling to his left and throwing back across the middle of the field). Still, the group made some timely receptions, with Deal finishing with four catches for 19 yards, King catching two for 23 yards, and Tyler Fromm and John Samuel Shenker both hauling in passes that produced a first down.
Offensive line: B-
As noted above, Auburn’s inability to establish a consistent run game against an Arkansas run defense that was giving up yards by the boatload in recent weeks is a concern—especially in some early-game situations where Auburn faced third-and-short but was unable to convert on the ground. The Tigers need to do a better job of winning the line of scrimmage in that regard, though they showed late that they’re capable of doing so, as Auburn put together a sustained drive to sap the clock and put the game away in the fourth quarter. As far as pass protection, the unit did not surrender a sack, keeping Nix clean and upright throughout the day as he put on a masterful performance at quarterback. There were a few penalties, including a pair of false starts from Kilian Zierer, who made his first start at left tackle in place of Austin Troxell.
Defensive line: B
This wasn’t Auburn’s most complete performance defensively, but the defensive line got after it, especially in the second half after Arkansas surged ahead on the opening drive of the third quarter. From that point on, Arkansas’ remaining six drives ended with a punt, a fumble recovered for an Auburn touchdown, a turnover on downs, a touchdown, a three-and-out and another turnover on downs. That turnaround started up front, where Auburn’s defensive line recorded all three of the team’s sacks (two from Colby Wooden), the forced fumble on K.J. Jefferson (courtesy Derick Hall) and the fumble recovery in the end zone (by Marcus Harris). The unit ceded its share of yards in the run game, as Arkansas ran for 232 yards on the day, though much of that success came on designed runs by Jefferson, who had 85 sack-adjusted rushing yards.
Linebackers: B+
It’s gotten to the point to where you can set your clock to Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten; that’s just how consistent and reliable the duo has been at linebacker for Auburn this season, especially with Owen Pappoe still sidelined with a leg injury. McClain finished with 15 tackles and a pair of pass-breakups in the second half, while Wooten posted 10 tackles, with seven solo stops. The two were key to Auburn’s second-half turnaround on defense, even if the Tigers weren’t exactly great overall against the run.
Defensive backs: B-
Roger McCreary had three pass-breakups and nearly had an interception, while Zion Puckett and Bydarrius Knighten each had seven tackles, and Smoke Monday finished with six, including one for a loss. There didn’t appear to be some of the same coverage issues that have troubled Auburn at times this season, but the Tigers still had their hands full with Jefferson, who completed 21-of-35 passes for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Treylon Burks, including a 30-yarder coming out of halftime.
Specialists: A
Anders Carlson made his lone field goal from 29 yards out and was 5-of-5 on extra points, but the real highlight on special teams came from punter Oscar Chapman. He averaged 47.8 yards on five punts Saturday, including a 57-yarder in the third quarter that flipped the field and pinned Arkansas at its 11-yard line. That set up an impressive series from the defense that culminated in Hall’s strip-sack of Jefferson and Harris’ recovery for a touchdown.
Coaches: B+
Kudos to Mike Bobo, who put together a great offensive gameplan along with Bryan Harsin. The Tigers may not have had the kind of success on the ground they desired, but they had some timely runs that helped extend drives and set up big plays in the passing game. Bobo’s deep-shot call after a change of possession worked to perfection, resulting in the 71-yard touchdown from Nix to Robertson. The third-down call out of a timeout in the fourth quarter, when Auburn faked a reverse and ran a quarterback sweep was brilliant—as was the designed draw for Nix out of an empty set on his game-sealing touchdown. Overall, Bobo called a pretty impressive game on the road against a ranked opponent. Harsin deserves credit too for having his team prepared to come in and get a big win, even if some of his aggressive decisions—like calling a timeout before an Arkansas third-and-15 late in the first half—didn’t pay off. As for Derek Mason, his defense was in a trouble spot during those middle-eight minutes of the game when Arkansas took the lead, but the unit clamped down for much of the second half to help secure the win.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
