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Arkansas defeated Auburn 24-14 on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It’s a huge win for the Razorbacks and head coach Sam Pittman, who is on the hot seat this season. Arkansas is now 3-1 on the year, with its only loss coming in overtime against a solid Oklahoma State team on the road.
Here are 3 takeaways from this game:
Arkansas’ defense showed up
Arkansas’ defense had its best game of the season (against an FBS opponent) on Saturday night. The Razorbacks did break, but they didn’t bend — despite allowing Auburn to gain 6.7 yards per play.
The difference in this game was Auburn’s 5 turnovers. The Razorbacks picked off 4 passes and recovered a fumble, which directly resulted in 10 points — the difference in the game.
TJ Metcalf was the hero for Arkansas’ defense as he recorded 2 interceptions and forced a fumble on the day.
Auburn was able to move the ball pretty well, gaining a total of 355 yards on the day. But a lot of the production came on just a small handful of explosive plays. Auburn’s offense managed just a 38% success rate overall on the day, which is a very good showing for Arkansas’ defense.
Auburn’s QB nightmare continues
Auburn still doesn’t seem to know who its quarterback is.
After 1.5 games of the Hank Brown experience, Hugh Freeze turned back to Payton Thorne on Saturday. The veteran quarterback gave Auburn a chance to win in the second half by throwing a pair of touchdown passes, but he also threw an interception.
Brown threw 3 picks before being shown the pine at halftime. Auburn is running out of time to figure out its quarterback situation. QB play has now cost the Tigers possible wins over Cal and Arkansas this season, and things don’t get any easier with Oklahoma coming to town next weekend.
Arkansas’ path to bowl eligibility
With this win, Arkansas has a relatively-clear path to bowl eligibility this season.
Per ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Razorbacks had a 51.6% chance to reach the postseason prior to this win. That number will likely rise significantly now that it has moved to 3-1 on the season.
Arkansas should be heavy favorites in Vegas against Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech later this fall. Assuming both of those games are wins, Arkansas would need to win just 1 of its remaining contests against Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri.
The Razorbacks will face Texas A&M on the road next weekend.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
