The Arkansas football team earned an away win at Auburn on Saturday to open the season.
The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 24-14 in front of a sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium of 88,043. Arkansas (3-1, 1-0 SEC) won its conference opener for the third time since 2021.
The away team won the series for the fourth time in a row. Auburn won 48-10 in Fayetteville last November.
“It’s hard to win anywhere on the road,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said on the Razorback Sports Network postgame broadcast. “This team beat us 48-10 last year. To come home and win after what they did at our house is very satisfying, to say the least.”
Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson ran for two touchdowns, including a 1-yard touchdown with 3:38 left that essentially sealed the win for the Razorbacks. Jackson scored a touchdown on a third-and-goal play that was upheld after a review.
Jackson’s second touchdown capped a 12-play, 75-yard run that lasted 6 minutes, 12 seconds and was a response to an Auburn score early in the fourth quarter. All of the Razorbacks’ yards on that possession were gained on rushing plays by Jackson, quarterback Taylen Green and running back Braylen Russell.
Green threw incomplete passes on first and second down, but the drive was extended when Auburn (2-2, 0-1) committed pass interference on third down. The next 10 snaps were running plays.
Arkansas led 7-0 after both teams played a sloppy first half. The only score before halftime was Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, capping a 15-play, 81-yard run.
Auburn held a 173-164 lead over Arkansas in the first half, but the Tigers committed four turnovers before halftime, including three in the final 1:52 minutes.
It looked like Damari Alston might score a touchdown on the first play after the 2-minute timeout, but defensive back TJ Metcalf stripped him of the ball at the Arkansas 5 after a 36-yard gain. Linebacker Stephen Dix recovered the fumble in the end zone and scored a touchback.
“All week the coaches have been teasing us about our angles to the ball,” Metcalf said. “I just stayed inside and hit the ball outside when I had to. Stephen Dix got it back, that was unbelievable.”
The Razorbacks made it three times and were out on the next possession, then the teams traded interceptions. Hank Brown was intercepted twice and Green once in the final minute.
Auburn replaced Brown with Payton Thorne at quarterback in the second half. Thorne, who began the season as the starter, was benched after throwing four interceptions in a 21-14 home loss to California on Sept. 7.
“It’s just disgusting that we can’t take care of the football on offense,” said Hugh Freeze, Auburn’s coach for two years and whose record with the Tigers dropped to 8-9. “I have to change that.”
Thorne threw two touchdowns to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the second half. Lambert-Smith tied the game at 7-7 with a 10-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. The 54-yard catch for a 10-yard touchdown was the basis for his equalizer.
The Penn State transfer also scored a 67-yard touchdown pass on fourth and third with 9:55 left, cutting the Razorbacks’ lead to 17-14.
Arkansas took the lead for good, 14-7, when Green found Isaiah Sategna for a 58-yard touchdown on third-and-19 late in the third quarter. Green rolled to the left to avoid the pressure and then threw the ball about 50 yards into the air. Sategna made a contested catch at the 5-yard line.
Kyle Ramsey kicked a 43-yard field goal with 12:04 left to give the Razorbacks a 17-7 lead. Ramsey missed a 41-yard field goal on Arkansas’ first possession of the first half.
Metcalf intercepted passes from both of Auburn’s quarterbacks and was involved in four of the Tigers’ turnovers. He tipped off a pass that led to Brown’s first interception, which was caught by Doneiko Slaughter to end Auburn’s first drive, which reached the Arkansas 29-yard line.
Brown completed 7 of 13 passes for 72 yards and was intercepted 3 times. Thorne completed 13 of 22 passes for 213 yards, scoring 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
“I think the illusion that we were going to bring more (pass rushers) bothered them tonight,” Pittman said.
Green completed 12 of 27 for 151 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Green officially ran for 80 yards, but including sacks, he ran 15 times for 107 yards.
“It’s not just about the 80 yards, it’s about when he ran the 80 yards,” Pittman said. “There were so many third downs and so many big plays where he ran and got out of them to get a first down.”
“He didn’t play his best game. We’re waiting for it and he’s going to play it. But I’ll tell you what he does: He’s a winner. When times get tough … he’s going to make a move and he did. He made several of them today.”
Jackson, who was the SEC’s top runner entering the week, ran 22 times for 75 yards. The Utah native scored his seventh and eighth touchdowns of the season.
Auburn had a 431-334 offensive advantage. The Razorbacks were better on the ground, rushing for 183 yards, which gave them plenty of possession. Arkansas had possession for 36:36 of the game.
“I think that will give us a lot of confidence as the year goes on,” Pittman said.
Why Arkansas won
The Razorbacks won the battle for possession 5-2 and dominated time of possession with a running game that seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
Player of the game: Arkansas S TJ Metcalf
The Pinson, Alabama native showed what he could do in his home state, recording 4 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.
“I feel great right now,” Metcalf said afterwards.
Metcalf estimated that 10 to 15 of his friends and family members were at the game.
Strange series
The visiting team has won four games in a row in this series and would have won six games in a row in the series without the controversial decision.
Auburn won 30-28 at home in 2020 when SEC officials incorrectly ruled a backward pass by quarterback Bo Nix a legal spike, allowing the Tigers to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
Motivated by the 2020 defeat, Arkansas won 41-27 at Auburn in 2022, which led to the firing of head coach Bryan Harsin the next day.
Since 2017, the Tigers have won four times in a row in Fayetteville.
What a difference a year makes
Saturday’s game was the 13th in which the Razorbacks played against a team they lost to by 38 or more points the year before.
After the win over the Tigers, they are 1-12 in those games.
Before Saturday, Arkansas had come closest to winning such a game: a 14-13 home loss to Alabama in 2014 that followed two consecutive 52-0 losses to the Crimson Tide.
Here’s a look at how Arkansas performed on the year after losing to an SEC opponent by 38 or more.
Loss margin: opponent, season, result next year
53: Auburn, 2016, L 52-20
52: Alabama, 2012, loss 52-0
52: Alabama, 2013, L 14-13
49: Alabama, 2020, L 42-35
49: Florida, 1997, DNP
48: Texas A&M, 2012, loss 45-33
46: Mississippi State, 2018, L 54-24
45: South Carolina, 2013, DNP
43: Tennessee, 2000, loss 13-3
41: Tennessee, 1996, L 30-22
41: Auburn, 2019, L 30-28
41: Alabama, 2019, L 52-3
40: Alabama, 1993, L 13-6
38: Missouri, 2018, L 24-14
38: Auburn, 2023, win 24-14
Next
The Razorbacks are scheduled to play a neutral-site game against No. 25 Texas A&M next Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A kick-off time has not yet been announced, but it will be either 2:30pm or 3:15pm. An official announcement is expected by Sunday morning.
