Arkansas faces tough road test at Auburn
FAYETTEVILLE Arkansas’ mostly struggling 2016 defense and Auburn’s mostly struggling 2016 offense each have improved just in time to test each other’s improvement this evening.
Coach Bret Bielema’s 17th-ranked visiting Razorbacks (5-2, 1-2) and coach Gus Malzahn’s 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers (4-2, 2-1) clash at 5 p.m. today at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.
Arkansas sports the better ranking, but Las Vegas oddsmakers mostly have rated Auburn a 10-point favorite.
Their Auburn favoritism seems based both on the home field advantage of 87,500-plus capacity Jordan-Hare and a defense that has held five opponents between 7 and 19 points.
They compared Auburn's 29-16 SEC loss to the undefeated and nationally No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies on Sept. 17 with Arkansas’ 45-24 loss to the Aggies on Sept. 24.
Even the unbeaten, nationally No. 4 Clemson Tigers couldn’t score 20 on Auburn. Clemson won 19-13.
So Arkansas’ optimism with the Razorbacks impressively balancing 429 yards (200 running and 229 passing) on the then 12th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels last Saturday, is tempered with meeting an Auburn defense alleged to be up to the caliber of A&M and even nationally No. 1 Alabama.
“I compare them to Alabama,” Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith said. “Very physical. Very handsy.”
Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, a former linebacker at Tennessee and a former Tennessee assistant and Baylor head coach, has coordinated defenses at Clemson and Alabama (pre Nick Saban).
He returned to Alabama in 2014 to be Saban’s linebackers coach and coordinated LSU’s defense in 2015 before moving to Auburn this season.
“Kevin Steele and that defense are really performing at a high level,” Bielema said. “They have really good players performing extremely well and extremely smart.”
Steele has coordinated a much better Auburn defense so far than the heralded Will Muschamp, the current South Carolina head coach and past Florida head coach, coordinated last year at Auburn.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos called Alabama a defense without a weakness two games ago.
This week, he also couldn’t conjure a defensive weakness for Auburn.
Bielema and Enos did note Arkansas’ offensive confidence soars from beating Ole Miss with Arkansas’ running game measuring up to the outstanding passing that junior Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen has exhibited all season.
Arkansas sophomore running back Rawleigh Williams was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after netting 180 rushing yards on 27 carries against Ole Miss.
Entering what could have been called “The Losing Tiger Gets Fired Bowl” when the struggling Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers met on Sept. 24 at Auburn, Auburn won 18-13.
Indeed, longtime LSU Coach Les Miles did get fired by the following week, while Malzahn started a three-game winning streak.
No coincidence the Auburn winning streak didn’t start until Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and 2006 Arkansas defensive coordinator for Houston Nutt, quit playing quarterbacks roulette.
John Franklin and Jeremy Johnson, his two fastest quarterbacks, were benched and junior Sean White was installed to start.
White’s 92-of-132 for 1,187 yards and a SEC-leading 69.7 percent completion percentage, should capture attention.
“It all starts with him,” Bielema said.
Malzahn was known for his uptempo passing offenses at Springdale and Shiloh Christian, but usually has Auburn among the SEC rushing leaders while still emphasizing the pace of his no-huddle offense “as fast as humanly possible,” Bielema said.
Bielema and Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said the Hogs must adjust and reassemble faster between plays Saturday at Auburn than they sometimes did against Ole Miss in Fayetteville.
KINGSLEY PLACED ON WATCH LIST
Already named SEC Preseason Player of the Year by the media voting at SEC basketball media days this week in Nashville, Tenn., Arkansas Razorbacks senior center Moses Kingsley was named Friday to the 20-man watch list for the Kareem AbdulJabbar Award.
Kingsley was among 10 finalists for last year’s award honoring the nation’s top collegiate big man in honor of Los Angeles Lakers NBA Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was Lou Alcindor as a 3-time national championship team and College Basketball Hall of Famer playing for UCLA.
Kingsley, 6-10, last season averaged 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and blocked 76 shots last season for the Razorbacks.