Razorbacks fall short at Auburn, lose 30-28

The Razorbacks opened as 18 point dogs but the line shrunk to 14 points as they arrived in Auburn, Alabama.

The Hogs entered the week thinking they could get back three players banged up from the Mississippi State game but once play began, it was clear they'd be without starting running back Rakeem Boyd, starting wide receiver Treylon Burks and starting cornerback Montaric Brown.

Auburn wasn't spared heading into the game either. Starting corner Jaylon Simpson, starting linebacker KJ Britt, running back Shaun Shivers and wide receiver Eli Stove were all listed as out ahead of kickoff.

Arkansas and Auburn exchanged punts in the first two drives of the game, Feleipe Franks and Bo Nix both taking sacks to end the drive.

The injury bug struck Arkansas again early in the first quarter when right tackle Noah Gatlin went down with a leg injury. He was replaced by back up Dalton Wagner.

The next three drives also ended in punt plays but the third had disastrous results.

Michigan transfer punter George Caratan had his punt blocked in the endzone and recovered for a Tiger touchdown. The punt block by Jordyn Peters was the fourth of his career.

The Hogs went three and out on their fourth drive. Auburn running back DJ Williams, who was questionable to play before the game, broke off a 41-yard run down to the Arkansas 36. The Razorback defense gets the stop and forces the Tigers to take three, ending the first quarter with a 10-point.

Arkansas gave up 101 yards of offense in the first quarter and only accumulated 46 yards themselves. Eighty-six of Auburn's first quarter yards came on the ground.

The Razorbacks punted away the ball on their first drive of the second quarter, setting Auburn up for a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Down 17-0, the Hogs start to feel the walls closing in, and start to air it out.

With 9:22 to play in the first half, Smith rushes for a gain of four but Auburn linebacker grants the Hogs a first down with a facemask penalty. Franks completes a nine-yard pass to De'Vion Warren, followed up by a 15 yard run by Smith. Franks completes the eight-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mike Woods. Hogs are down 17-6 after having the extra point blocked.

Auburn running back Tank Bigsby returns the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to give the Tigers favorable field position, but the Arkansas defense force Nix to squib kick from the Arkansas 45.

Franks opens the next drive with a 44-yard completion to Warren down the right sideline. Two rushes by Smith, a completion by Smith and Tyson Morris and Arkansas punches it in the endzone with a 7-yard pass to Warren. The Hogs go for two but Trey Knox can't hold on to the ball. They trail 17-12.

A 26-yard rush by Bigsby and a 30-yard completion to Seth Williams set Auburn up for a 25-yard field goal.

The Razorbacks get the ball back but go into the locker room down 20-12 at halftime with Auburn receiving the ball to start the second half. Auburn out-gained Arkansas by 53 yards in the first half with the underdogs relying on the passing game to catch up. Franks finished the first half with 12 of 17 completions, 148 yards and two touchdowns.

The Arkansas defense started the second half strong, forcing Auburn to punt following two back-to-back sacks by Jonathan Marshall and Hayden Henry.

The Razorbacks marched 85 yards down the field in 13 plays, capping it off with a five-yard completion to Smith.

The Tigers answered with a 64-yard, nine-play drive, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Anthony Schwartz.

Arkansas racked up three plays of 15-yards or more but after Franks took a shot in the redzone, true freshman Malik Hornsby was stopped on two runs to the right side. The Hogs settled for 3 points to make it 27-21 Auburn.

With 11:32 to play, Auburn goes three and out, giving Arkansas the ball back with just over 10 minutes to play.

The Razorbacks' next drive almost stalled at the Auburn 41 but Sam Pittman calls a timeout and Franks finds Woods for a gain of 11 and the first down. Next play, Franks throws a deep pass to Warren in the corner of the endzone, touchdown Arkansas.

Arkansas takes their first lead of the game, 28-27, with 5:29 to play.

Arkansas has luck on their side as Auburn misses a field goal from 34-yards but the luck would run out. The Hogs use just 32 seconds on the next drive and give Auburn the ball back with 2:09 to play.

The Tigers gained 26 yards before Nix attempted to spike the ball. Nix fumbles the snap, picks the ball up and spikes it behind him. It appears to be a backwards pass but the refs maintain their call of intentional grounding and the Tigers capped it off with a game-winning field goal from 39 yards out.

Arkansas finished the game with 318 passing yards, 119 rushing yards for a total just 9 yards shy of Auburn's final yardage. Franks' 73.3 completion percentage was the highest of his career, completing 22 of 30 passes along with 28 rushing yards.

Smith, in for Boyd, finished with 81 yards on 21 carries and 78 yards receiving with six catches. Woods led the Arkansas receivers with 81 yards on six catches. Warren had 95 yards on five catches and tight end Blake Kern posted 59 yards on 4 catches.

Defensively, Arkansas racked up 77 tackles, led by safety Jalen Catalon with 14, 10 solo. Hudson Clark, filling in for Brown, had seven tackles (all solo) and a pass breakup. Marshall and Henry had a sack each with Gregory and Nichols combining for a third.

Arkansas is now 1-2 on the season with a matchup against Ole Miss on the horizon.