AUBURN, Ala. – Tank Bigsby brought the home crowd to its feet with a 41-yard touchdown run but Arkansas rushed for four touchdowns and scored on each of its four second-half possessions to beat the Tigers 41-27 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"They ran the ball well, played hard, did a good job. We've got to do a better job stopping the run. We had too many mistakes to win a football game. We've got to do a better job eliminating those, in coaching, playing and our preparation," Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. "We're not good enough right now. We've got to be better. The key for us is to get back to work on Sunday."
Trailing 14-3 late in the second quarter after two KJ Jefferson touchdown runs, Auburn drove 93 yards in five plays, with Robby Ashford rushing for 34 yards on third-and-6, then passing to Bigsby for 14 yards. Bigsby raced 41 yards down the sideline for his seventh touchdown of the season to trim the Razorbacks' lead to 14-10 with 3:43 left in the half.
Arkansas kicked a field goal to lead 17-10 but Auburn drove 52 yards in seven plays in 47 seconds, scoring on Anders Carlson's 24-yard field goal with three seconds left to pull Auburn within four at 17-13 at the half.
Needing a touchdown to take the lead to start the second half, Auburn drove to the Razorbacks' 28-yard line but a third-down sack and a blocked 52-yard field goal attempt ended the drive with no points.
"To have the ball, drive and nothing come out was tough," team captain John Samuel Shenker said. "It's got to be better overall, mentally and physically, on both sides."
Arkansas (5-3, 2-3) capitalized on the momentum by scoring 21 unanswered points on three consecutive touchdown drives of 64, 94 and 84 yards, respectively.
"These guys truly care and they truly want to win and when you go out and your performance doesn't speak to who this team is, that hurts a lot," said Derick Hall, who recovered Zion Puckett's forced fumble, recorded half a sack and made six tackles.
Jefferson's 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Haselwood gave the Razorbacks a 24-13 lead after the blocked kick. Two touchdown runs by Rashod Dubinion extended the advantage to 38-13 in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"When you're playing a good team and they score, you've got to answer," Harsin said.
Ashford threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Camden Brown in the fourth quarter. Ashford and Brown connected for another 50-yard completion to the Razorbacks' 2-yard line in the final minute. The true freshman receiver led Auburn with four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.
"He's a baller," Ashford said of Brown. "From the time he got on campus, he's worked his tail off. It's good to see that pay off for him because he's such a hard worker and dedicated. You love playing with guys like that."
Jarquez Hunter scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with four seconds left to account for the final score.
Ashford completed 24 of 33 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown while leading the Tigers with 87 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Raheim Sanders, the SEC's leading rusher, gained 171 yards on 16 carries, including a 76-yarder after an Oscar Chapman punt pinned Arkansas at its 6-yard line.
Owen Pappoe and Colby Wooden led the Tigers with eight tackles apiece, with Pappoe adding 1.5 sacks while Wooden had a sack among his two tackles for loss.
Auburn (3-5, 1-4) plays at Mississippi State next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
"Just get back to work," Wooden said. "There's no trick. You've got to roll your sleeves up. You've got to go attack it. No team is going to feel sorry for you."Postgame Notes>> Captains: Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shenker, Nehemiah Pritchett
>> Coin Toss: Arkansas won the toss and will receive
>> Eagle Flight: Aurea from the flagpole
>> Attendance: 83,972
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: none
>> Auburn has scored in 125 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> John Samuel Shenker is the Auburn career leader in tight end receptions (68). Shenker is now 2nd in tight end career receiving yardage (779), passing Fred Baxter (767 from 1990-92); the career leader is Cooper Wallace (829 from 2002-05).
>> Tank Bigsby now has 2,520 career rushing yards, to rank 11th all-time at Auburn, passing Kerryon Johnson (2,494 from 2015-17); next is Onterio McCalebb (2,586 from 2009-12).
>> Robby Ashford ranks 3rd among all-time Auburn freshman passers with 1,299 passing yards, ahead of Jeff Klein (1,038 in 1999), s Jason Campbell (1,117 in 2001), Sean White (1,166 in 2015) and Gabe Gross (1,222 in 1998).
>> Ashford is 4th in freshman pass attempts (173), passing Jeff Klein (169 in 1999); next is Gabe Gross (197 in 1998). Ashford is 3rd in pass completions (91), passing Sean White (83 in 2015), Jeff Klein (85 in 1999), Gabe Gross (88 in 1998) and Jason Campbell (89 in 2001).
>> Ashford ranks 20th among Auburn freshman rushers with 380 yards, passing Shaun Shivers (371 in 2018) and Darrell Williams (371 in 1989); next are Ben Tate (392 in 2006), D.J. Williams (400 in 2019), Rusty Williams (439 in 1996), Mario Fannin (448 in 2007).
>> Camden Brown had his first career touchdown reception.
>> Jarquez Hunter scored his 5th rushing TD of the season and 8th of his career.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> Owen Pappoe records his first sack of the season and 7th of his career.
>> Derick Hall records his first fumble recovery of the season and of his career. Zion Puckett forced the fumble, the first of the season for him and first of his career.
>> Hall now has 4.5 sacks for the season and 17.0 for his career.
>> Colby Wooden now has 4.0 sacks for the season and 13.0 for his career.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Anders Carlson is now second in Auburn career scoring with 403 points; the career leader is Daniel Carlson with 480 points from 2014-17.
>> Carlson ranks second at Auburn in career field goals made with 77; Daniel Carlson is the career leader with 92.
>>Carlson is third in career PAT made at Auburn with 172; next is Wes Byrum (183 from 2007-10).
>> Carlson (403) is now 6th among SEC career scoring leaders; next is Marshall Morgan, Georgia (407 from 2012-15).
>> Carlson (77) is tied for 6th among SEC career leaders in field goals made with Kevin Butler, Georgia (77); next is Philip Doyle, Alabama (78).
>> Carlson (172) is now 11th among SEC career leaders in PAT made; next is Wes Byrum, Auburn (183 from 2007-10) and Aaron Medley, Tennessee (183 from 2014-17).
>> Oscar Chapman has 9 punts of 50 yards or longer this season.