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College Football
Preview
Auburn at Arkansas
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 11, 2023
Where: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Two teams mired toward the bottom of the SEC West standings will meet when Auburn hits the road Saturday to take on Arkansas at Fayetteville, Ark.

Auburn (5-4, 2-4 SEC) is fifth in the conference's West standings behind Texas A&M, but the Tigers are one win away from bowl eligibility after knocking off Vanderbilt 31-15 last week.

Arkansas (3-6, 1-5) is tied with Mississippi State for last in the division, but the Razorbacks enter this week with a bit of momentum following a 39-36 overtime win at Florida on Saturday.

After Auburn gave Robby Ashford sporadic playing time at quarterback through the first seven games, head coach Hugh Freeze has settled on Payton Thorne as the starter.

During the Tigers' current two-game winning streak, Thorne has passed for 424 yards and five touchdowns despite throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown against Vanderbilt. Thorne's numbers could be even better if it weren't for dropped passes.

Freeze counted seven dropped passes in the win over Vanderbilt and a couple could have gone for scores. Tigers running back Jarquez Hunter has 327 yards rushing and two touchdowns over the past two games to help carry the offense.

"We've got to focus and be able to finish games and make those catches that put us in third and manageable or first down scenarios," Freeze said.

After opening the season with two wins, Arkansas dropped six straight before its win over Florida. Five of the Razorbacks' defeats were by a touchdown or less, with the worst of the six setbacks a 34-22 loss to Texas A&M at Arlington, Texas.

Veteran Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 92 yards and a score to lead Arkansas to its first ever road win at Florida.

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders had 103 yards on 18 carries against the Gators in his best game of the season after being slowed by a knee injury for much of the year.

With Jefferson and Sanders set to move the offense, Auburn's scrappy defense, at 21.7 points-allowed per game, will be tested against a capable offense in what's expected to be an emotional environment.

"Excited to get back home against a team in Auburn that's playing really well," Pittman said.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf Conf
Auburn 5-4 W2 27.2 21.7 3-2 2-2 3-4 0-0 2-4
Arkansas 3-6 W1 27.9 24.3 2-3 1-3 1-3 0-0 1-5
Last Meeting
Auburn Arkansas
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
10/29/22 ARK 41 AUB 27 468 183 285 524 280 244
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Auburn R. Ashford 72.7 285 1 0
Arkansas K. Jefferson 66.7 234 1 0
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Auburn R. Ashford 19 87 4.6 0
Arkansas R. Sanders 16 171 10.7 0
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Auburn C. Brown 4 83 20.8 1
Arkansas M. Landers 4 115 28.8 0
Touchdowns Player TD
Auburn T. Bigsby 1
Arkansas R. Dubinion 2
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Auburn P. Thorne 63.9 1269 10 6
Arkansas K. Jefferson 65.2 1802 16 8
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Auburn J. Hunter 108 636 5.9 7
Arkansas K. Jefferson 129 292 2.3 2
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Auburn J. Fair 28 284 10.1 2
Arkansas A. Armstrong 46 623 13.5 4
Touchdowns Player TD
Auburn J. Hunter 7
Arkansas A. Armstrong 4
Quickchart Matchup
Auburn Auburn Off vs  Arkansas Arkansas Def
Auburn 355.9 yards
Arkansas 339.8 yards
Auburn 4.9 yards/rush
Arkansas 3.7 yards/rush
Auburn 6.8 yards/attempt
Arkansas 7.9 yards/attempt
Arkansas Arkansas Off vs  Auburn Auburn Def
Arkansas 325.3 yards
Auburn 357 yards
Arkansas 3.2 yards/rush
Auburn 4.4 yards/rush
Arkansas 7.3 yards/attempt
Auburn 7 yards/attempt