Week 7: Auburn at Arkansas

Last year, Auburn was rolling along at 6–0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation when the Arkansas Razorbacks came to town. The Hogs posed a threat with their potent rushing attack, but Auburn fans weren’t overly concerned. After all, the Tigers were allowing an average of only 73.5 yards on the ground. Surely Arkansas wouldn’t be able run the ball consistently on the mighty Tigers, right? Wrong. In one of the more surprising SEC games of the past several seasons, Arkansas ran for an astounding 279 yards en route to a 27–10 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Can the Hogs do it again? Can a one-dimensional Arkansas attack find a way to move the ball on a stingy Auburn defense that has held every opponent this year below its season average? Yes, because there really is no evidence to suggest that any team can slow down the Hogs’ rushing attack.

The key question is whether Auburn can score on Arkansas. If you figure that the Hogs will run for somewhere between 150 and 200 yards and score around 21 to 24 points, will that be enough to beat Auburn? The answer to that question two weeks ago is different than the answer today.

Auburn is playing its best football of the season of late, with a stunning victory over Florida in Gainesville and a surprisingly easy win over Vanderbilt at home. The Tigers’ offense, which struggled so much earlier in the season gained 404 yards against a solid Vanderbilt defense, including 239 on the ground.

The most important development in recent weeks has been the improved play of senior quarterback Brandon Cox. Over the past three weeks, Cox has completed 44-of-62 passes for 527 yards with four touchdowns and, most important, only one interception. If Cox continues to play mistake-free football, the Tigers will win a lot of games, considering the way they run the ball, play defense and handle special teams.

Don’t be surprised if this is not a close game. Only one of the past six meetings has been decided by less than 17 points.

Auburn by 17