As the Arkansas football team (2-1, 0-0 SEC) prepares for its Week 4 matchup against the Auburn Tigers (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, on Saturday, HawgBeat has some fast facts about the game and both programs.
Coming into the SEC opener, Arkansas will look to turn its fortunes around against conference foes on the road. Last season, the Razorbacks finished 1-3 at other SEC teams' home stadiums, with the lone win coming against Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
A storyline to watch is the return of Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams to his alma mater and former place of employment. Williams was a two-time All-SEC linebacker for the Tigers and coached at Auburn as a GA (2009-11), a defensive analyst (2014-15), a linebackers coach (2016-18) and a co-defensive coordinator (2019-2020).
"I know he’s probably crunk and hype but he’s not really showing it you know," linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. said Tuesday. "He’s treating it like a regular game like every other game, it’s an important game, every game is an important game. Last week was important, every week is important. So I know Coach T-Will, he’s treating it like an important game you know what I mean?
"We of course as players know he's from there, so we kind of wanna play — we’re feeling for him, you know what I mean, we’re feeling for him, so we want to go out there and play hard for our coach. We know he’s from there we know he coached there and he probably still has a lot of friends and a lot of relationships there. So you know he wants to do good, so we want to do good for him."
Below are some other fast facts to know ahead of Saturday's matchup, which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and be broadcast on ESPN:
By the Numbers:
Arkansas:
~ After only totaling nine rushing touchdowns last season, Arkansas currently leads the country in the department with 15 scores on the ground. Ja'Quinden Jackson leads the effort with six touchdowns of his own.
~ Through the first three games of the season, the Razorbacks are third in the SEC and fifth in the country in total offense with an average of 587.3 yards per game.
~ Arkansas has an all-time record of 58-48-3 in conference openers since joining the Southwest Conference in 1915. The Hogs, who are seeking back-to-back wins against the Tigers in Auburn, Alabama, for the first time since 2006-08, are 12-20 in SEC openers since 1992 with a 2-2 mark in SEC openers under head coach Sam Pittman.
Auburn:
~ In SEC openers each season, the Tigers are 52-33-5 (.545) all-time and are 25-6 over the last 31 SEC opening games. In SEC home openers, the Tigers are 58-27-2 (.678) all-time. The Tigers defeated Arkansas 45-21 in the 2014 season and SEC opener.
~ Auburn ranks fourth nationally in net punting (46.7) and is one of 10 FBS teams whose opponents show negative punt return yards. The Tigers are also ninth nationally in kickoff returns with a 31.2-yard average.
~ Before the 2023 game, Auburn had scored at least 30 points in nine straight games against Arkansas. Through the first 25 games in the series, Auburn outscored Arkansas by a total of just 633-629, an average differential of just 0.16 points per contest. The first 10 games (1984-2000) of the series featured six games decided by six points or fewer, including one tie; only three games were decided by 17 or more points.
~ In contrast, the last 23 games (2001-2023) of the series have featured 17 games that were decided by 14 points or more; during that span, the average margin of victory is 20.65 points per game.
~ Auburn is 188-63-5 (.744) all-time in the month of September; the Tigers are 121-25-1 (.827) all-time at home in September, and 67- 38-4 (.631) away from Auburn in that month. Since 1970, the Tigers have had a winning record in the month of September in 46 of 53 seasons. The Tigers are 5-4 in games played on September 21, 2-1 in SEC contests and 2-2 in Auburn on that date.
Series History:
~ Auburn leads 20-12-1 in the series with Arkansas; the Razorbacks were 41-27 winners in the teams’ last meeting in Auburn in 2023. Auburn was a 48-10 winner last season in Fayetteville. The Tigers lead 9-6-1 in games played at Jordan-Hare Stadium and lead 10-5 in games played at Fayetteville.
~ Auburn won the only matchup played in Memphis (1984), while Arkansas won the only one at Little Rock (1995). The six-game win streak by Auburn from 2017-22 was the longest winning streak by either team in series history.
Coming off the back of a monumental 39-36 overtime victory at Florida last season, Arkansas laid a stinker against Auburn in Razorback Stadium to lose, 48-10. In that game, Tigers' quarterback Payton Thorne completed 12-of-20 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns and he rushed for 88 yards with one score on the ground.
Former starting signal caller KJ Jefferson finished 10-of-16 from the pocket for the Razorbacks and also added 70 yards of his own in the run game, while no other Hog running backs eclipsed five total rushing yards.
In a game that was effectively over at halftime, the Tigers outpaced the Razorbacks in first downs, 32-10, and also crushed Arkansas in total yards, 517-255. The loss officially disqualified Arkansas from bowl eligibility, and left a sour taste in the mouths of most returning players.
"(Arkansas) got beat last year (by Auburn), and they're hurt," left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr. said Tuesday. "So, their hurt is my hurt. I'm trying everything in my power to go in there and change our result this year, and we're not going to feel that hurt again."
Player Notables:
~ Auburn leads the country with nine players who have already caught a touchdown pass this season.
~ Jerrin Thompson’s interception against New Mexico was the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good play of the week nationally.
~ KeAndre Lambert-Smith ranks eighth nationally, and third in the SEC, in yards per reception (26.0).
~ Quarterback Hank Brown made his first career start against New Mexico last week, going 17-of-25 for 235 passing yards with four touchdown passes.
~ Auburn has three Natural-State natives on its roster in quarterback Walker White (Little Rock), defensive lineman TJ Lindsey (Little Rock) and long snapper Reed Hughes (Conway).
