OVERVIEW:
Arkansas (17) and Auburn will meet this Saturday at DW Reynolds Razorback stadium, in an SEC West clash. Both teams are coming off of tough losses, and hoping to rebound! The Hogs fell to Ole Miss in Oxford by a single point, and Auburn is fresh off the Georgia buzzsaw. It’s homecoming weekend in Fayetteville, to escape with a victory this weekend the Tigers are going to have to play excellent!

ARKANSAS OUTLOOK:
Arkansas is coming off of one of their best offensive performances not only in the Pittman era, but in the past decade plus. The Hogs put up 51 points, with SIX touchdowns (3 passing; 3 rushing) courtesy of sophomore quarterback KJ Jefferson. Jefferson, a Missississippi native, absolutely balled out in his first start in his home state. KJ threw for 326 yards, while rushing for another 85 yards. If he can replicate his outing from last week, I don’t see how the Hogs drop this game.
The Hog’s ran for 350 yards last week, with freshman Rocket Sanders carrying the load rushing for 139 yards with an average of 8.2 yards per carry. Auburn is currently ranked 22nd in the country in rush defense only allowing 104 yards per game, however they did give up 201 yards last week. Treylon Burks was a key contributor last week, and I’d like to see him get more touches this week. We are destined for a big play when Burks has one on one coverage. If the defence has to worry about KJ’s scrambling ability and the backfield depth, we should be dazzled by Burks and the receiving core. Defensively Auburn is solid, but setting up the run will allow for favorable coverage for our receivers.

The defense to me was one of the biggest surprises to me last weekend, Ole Miss seemed like they were able to score at will. Auburn running back Tank Bigsby is one of the best in the land, so stopping him will go a long way towards a win. The defense has proved they can stop great running backs, just ask Bijan Robinson of Texas and CJ Spiller of TAMU. Matt Corral is one of the best players in the country and he proved it last week dissecting the Razorback secondary, and scrambling at ease. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix reminds me of a “poor man’s Corral” he has shown he is capable of replicating Corral, but is also very inconsistent. Arkansas will need to do a better job at stopping the big plays, controlling the line of scrimmage, and not allowing Nix to beat us with his legs.

THE NITTY-GRITTY:
Arkansas definitely is my favorite in this one. The offense needs to replicate their play from the Ole Miss game, while the defense needs to do a total 180. I’m really looking forward to watching how KJ, and the defensive line play this week! I expect Arkanasas to hang on at home and get back in the W column.

PREDICTION: Arkansas: 34 Ole Miss: 23

Written by Devon Sexton (@pigsooienation)