Auburn wins in a rout, Arkansas drops 15th straight SEC game
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FAYETTEVILLE — It will be at least another week before Chad Morris picks up his first SEC win.
The Razorbacks fell behind early and never had a chance in a 51-10 loss to No. 11 Auburn inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday.
Only 54,619 fans - the lowest attendance in Fayetteville since 2003 - witnessed Arkansas lose its 15th consecutive SEC game. Morris, in his second year at the helm, is now 0-12 in conference play, which is tied for the fourth most SEC losses to start a tenure since the conference was formed in 1933.
The Razorbacks were limited to only 52 rushing yards, as Rakeem Boyd - who entered the game as the SEC’s leading rusher - was held to just 39 yards on 13 carries. Meanwhile, none of the Tigers’ eight ball carriers eclipsed 100 yards, but they gained 301 as a team before the final kneel-downs took them down to 298.
Ben Hicks made his first start since the second week of the season and completed 19 of 39 passes for 182 yards, one touchdown and his first interception of the season. For a comparison, Bo Nix - Auburn’s true freshman quarterback - completed 12 of 17 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns while also scoring once on the ground.
Arkansas trailed by two touchdowns almost before it knew what happened.
The Tigers’ defensive line was consistently in the Razorbacks’ backfield, starting with a strip-sack of Hicks on third down. Auburn recovered the fumble and needed just three plays to score, with Nix running it in from four yards out to cap the 22-yard drive.
A couple of minutes later, after a three-and-out by Arkansas, the Tigers needed just three plays to score again. This time they covered 63 yards, highlighted by a 51-yard run by Kam Martin on the first play. Shaun Shivers’ 4-yard run made it 14-0 less than five minutes into the game.
Arkansas’ defense actually managed to get a fourth-down stop on Auburn’s third possession when Joe Foucha burst into the backfield and tackled Joey Gatewood for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-short.
It didn’t lead to any type of momentum for the Razorbacks, though. They turned in their fourth straight drive of three plays, over which they covered a total of only four yards.
The Tigers made it 17-0 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter when Anders Carlson kicked a 44-yard field goal to cap a 13-play drive that featured three third-down conversions.
The Razorbacks finally moved the chains just before the end of the quarter on a 17-yard screen pass to Boyd. It didn’t lead to anything productive, as they were forced to punt just three play later.
Instead of actually punting the ball, Arkansas dialed up a trick play it had been working on for several weeks at practice. It failed miserably, as Sam Loy’s attempted pass to De’Vion Warren was intercepted.
Despite being put out there on a short field, the defense bailed them out by limiting Auburn to a 48-yard field goal attempt, which Carlson missed wide right to keep it 17-0.
That would remain the score at halftime, as the Razorbacks couldn’t turn the Tigers’ first three-and-out of the game into points. They converted a pair of third downs, but Connor Limpert missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired.
The second half started much better for Arkansas, but that’s not saying much. After forcing another three-and-out, the offense managed to drive 77 yards on 16 plays, converting four third downs - the last two of which were aided by penalties - along the way.
However, the drive stalled out in the red zone and they had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Limpert, which broke up the shutout.
Any momentum Arkansas got from the drive was erased when Nix found a wide open Seth Williams for a 48-yard touchdown less than two minutes later. Hicks then threw an interception - his first after 108 attempts without one - on the Razorbacks’ first play and Auburn scored in just two plays.
Anthony Schwartz took a jet sweep 28 yards and then hauled in a 28-yard pass from Nix, giving the Tigers their second touchdown in a span of only 22 seconds.
A fantastic play by the defense, though, finally led to a touchdown for the Razorbacks. Linebacker De’Jon Harris shot through the offensive line and knocked the ball out of Nix’s hand. It was bouncing toward the sideline when linebacker Bumper Pool dove to keep it in bounds and then McTelvin Agim recovered it.
On the very next play, Hicks hit Cheyenne O’Grady over the middle and - after briefly bobbling the ball and regaining control - found the end zone for make it 31-10 just before the end of the third quarter.
With a chance to get off the field and give the offense the ball back, Arkansas’ defense allowed a third-and-seven conversion and then Auburn put the final nail in the coffin with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Gatewood - the Tigers’ backup quarterback - added a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jay Jay Wilson midway through the fourth quarter and then Harold Joiner capped the scoring with a 32-yard touchdown run.
Things don’t get much easier for Arkansas, as it hits the road to play No. 1 Alabama at 6 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN.