Auburn football notebook: trio of touchdowns for Tiger tandem

Auburn football notebook: trio of touchdowns for Tiger tandemAuburn football notebook: trio of touchdowns for Tiger tandem

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On one side, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix sees a world-class sprinter in Anthony Schwartz.  On the other side, a 6-3, 224-pound mismatch in Seth Williams. What's a defense to do?

"You can't double both of us," said Schwartz, who made his first touchdown catch of the season as part of his team-high six high receptions. "If you want to double both of us, we'll just run it down.

"[Williams] occupies the boundary safety, so it leaves me on a one-on-one to the field. Almost 10 times out of 10, I'm going to win my one-on-one."

Williams led Auburn with 90 receiving yards on four catches, including a pair of touchdowns. In the second half, Nix was 8-for-8 with a trio of TD passes, his first career three-touchdown game.

"They open up both sides of the field and you can't double both of them," Nix said. "They're going to get a one-on-one between the two, so you've just got to find it and hit them."

'Can't double both of us': Anthony Schwartz makes touchdown catch vs. Arkansas

'THE BIGGEST BLESSING'

A streak that began in the tenth game of Gus Malzahn's Auburn head coaching career – against Tennessee in 2013 – ended Saturday, but not before the Tigers converted an NCAA record 304 consecutive extra points.

Anders Carlson connected on No. 303 after Williams' first TD catch in the third quarter gave Auburn a 24-3 lead, breaking Florida State's record of 302 from 2012-16.

"It's the biggest blessing to be a small part of a big thing," said Anders, who teamed with his brother Daniel, Cody Parkey, Ian Shannon and Sage Ledbetter on the record-setting run. "Auburn prides itself on consistency. We specialists do the same. We're going to enjoy that. I know the guys who did it in the past are going to enjoy that."

Carlson, who also credited the long snappers and holders who contributed to the six-season run of PAT perfection, added another before missing an extra point in the fourth quarter,

"I didn't drive through it like I should have," he said. "That's on me."

D-LINE DUO

In their season-long game of one-upmanship, Marlon Davidson made a strong case for SEC D-line weekly honors, which would give him a 3-2 lead over Derrick Brown.

"I got the first two (SEC weekly awards), he was like, 'I just can't let Marlon do me wrong like that,'" said Davidson, who made five tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble which he recovered. "It just started to be a competition."

Davidson and Brown shared Auburn's team lead for tackles with five, along with Roger McCreary and Jamien Sherwood.

"Nobody can pick who they're going to block," Davidson said. "You slide a protection to Derrick, then I'm liable to make a play. You slide it to me, Derrick's going to make a play."

NO FAKES ALLOWED

For the second straight game, Auburn thwarted a fake punt attempt. Chandler Wooten made his first career interception in the second quarter.

"It was a surprise to me," said Wooten, who added three tackles. "I was ready to hit him. I'm grateful he threw it to me. Big play. We emphasize takeaways every week."

Auburn's defense created four turnovers, fumble recoveries by Davidson and Michael Harris, and an a diving interception by Javaris Davis.

"That's been a big emphasis for us," Davis said. "I just read the quarterback's eyes, just trying to make a play. We're going to need that next week against LSU, a very good opponent."

The Tigers travel to Baton Rouge Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT to play unbeaten LSU.

"It's going to be a great challenge for us," Davis said. "I feel like we have a great secondary, and it's a great opportunity for us because they have some good receivers and an explosive offense."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer