Opponent performance: Arkansas struggles on offense ahead of Saturday's matchup with Aubur
The Auburn Tigers have once again returned home for another week of the college football season and are looking to get back on track to begin the home stretch.
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Following a 30-point loss on the road at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Mississippi, the Tigers dropped to 4-4 on the year overall and 2-4 in SEC play.
Now, it is a chance to win their second conference game at home for the season, hosting the 3-5 Arkansas Razorbacks. However, getting a victory in this one still will not be easy, as the Razorbacks have won the last two times this game was played in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Arkansas is hitting the road having just lost in its most recent outing, falling 34-10 to the Missouri Tigers.
It was a game that the Razorbacks truly did not stand much of a chance in, but for a time, they had an opportunity to take the lead and keep things competitive.
Missouri struck first with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter of play, getting points on the road. On the eighth play of a drive with a shortened field, Blake Craig hit a 31-yard field goal to make it a 3-0 game.
The Tigers truly got things going a couple of minutes later, as a fumble by Arkansas resulted in a scoop and score for Darris Smith to put things at 10-0.
Then, with nine minutes left in the second quarter, Missouri got another big kick from the reliable leg of Craig, this time going from distance at 53 yards to cap off a 16-play drive. The offense of the Razorbacks was not doing anything, and needed to make something happen.
So they did. Just before the halftime break, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson ran for two yards into the end zone to close things to 13-7, giving his team momentum in front of its home crowd.
However, getting the ball out of the half, the Tigers kept things rolling. Quarterback Austin Simmons found Donovan Olugbode for a 15-yard score, pushing the lead to 20-7. A Jamal Roberts 2-yard rush shortly after then got it to 27-7, and the doors were blown open.
The Razorbacks got a 32-yard field goal from Max Gilbert to begin the fourth quarter of play, but Simmons shut the door on this game in the middle of the quarter with a 10-yard strike to Roberts to make it 34-10 and cement the Missouri win.
For Arkansas, Jackson finished 20-for-34 with 229 yards and one interception through the air, posting a QBR of 52.9 for the night.
The ground was not any prettier. A total of 59 yards was what the Razorbacks put up, and Cam Settles led things with 12 carries for 38 yards.
Meanwhile, in the receiving game, one wideout stood apart from everybody else, that being Antonio Jordan. His seven receptions for 106 yards led all receivers regardless of team, making him someone to watch on Saturday.
On defense, Bradley Shaw paved the way in total tackles with nine to go along with two pass deflections. Meanwhile, Joker Johnson had eight tackles with one tackle for loss, while Christian Harrison had seven with one tackle for loss as well.
Auburn and Arkansas are set to take on each other on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CST at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
