Arkansas vs. Auburn 2011
Auburn, the defending national champion, suffered its lone loss against Clemson, a team that still hasn’t tasted defeat. Since then, the Tigers have posted back-to-back wins, including a thrilling 16-13 triumph over South Carolina on the road last week. That bout marked the beginning of a four-game stretch against ranked SEC opponents.
As for Arkansas, it bounced back strong from a lopsided loss to Alabama with a thrilling 42-38 victory over Texas A&M at Dallas Cowboys Stadium last weekend. All three of the team’s other wins came against rather lackluster opponents, so it was certainly good for Petrino’s group to put one in the win column against a quality foe.
The Tigers already have two wins over ranked teams (Mississippi State and South Carolina), and a second-straight conference road win over a ranked team would provide plenty of confidence moving forward for a youthful team in defense of its national title. AU defense has rallied, giving up just 27 points, 506 total yards in last two wins. That wasn’t the case last year at Auburn when Cam Newton threw pair of TD passes in fourth quarter as Tigers outscored UA 28-0 over final 12 minutes.
This was Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson’s breakout game last season. The junior came off the bench in place of an injured Ryan Mallett and threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns, giving the Razorbacks a brief lead before the Tigers rallied to continue their undefeated march. If that game doesn’t give Wilson enough confidence heading into this week, his school-record 510-yard effort last week should do the trick.
The Hogs’ defense had huge problems last week giving up 628 total yards, including staggering 381 rushing, now ranks 10th in SEC in total defense (388.4 ypg, 75th in nation). Auburn RB Michael Dyer is third in the SEC and 18th nationally with an average of 113.4 yards rushing per game and has seven rushing touchdowns. He tied a school record with 41 carries for 141 yards in last week’s win over the Gamecocks.
Auburn has won 10 straight conference games. The Tigers are 9-0 in games decided by four points or less under coach Gene Chizik.
Sportsbook Advisor Take: We keep thinking Auburn is overrated but they keep showing us every week since week one that they have what it takes to win. But we are stubborn. We think Auburn isn’t as good as they have played lately and are placing action on Arkansas -10.
