No. 9 Auburn routs Arkansas, 34-3
AUBURN, Ala.—One week after Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham had to talk about a loss, he didn’t mind discussing the Tigers’ flaws exposed in a lopsided win.
Noah Igbinoghene scored on a 96-yard kickoff return, and a partially blocked punt by Jordyn Peters set up another touchdown as big plays on special teams helped No. 9 Auburn beat Arkansas 34-3 on Saturday night.
Freshman JaTarvious Whitlow ran for two touchdowns as Auburn (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) regrouped after last week’s last-second loss to No. 6 LSU. The Tigers were far from dominant on offense as Stidham passed for only 134 yards.
“We found a way to win,” said Stidham, who completed 15 of 22 passes with no interceptions and
no touchdowns. “That’s all I care about. … We’re going to have a lot of things to correct and fix and that sort of thing, but as long as we win, it’s all that matters.”
Auburn was held to 91 yards rushing. Whitlow ran for 49 yards, including a 15-yarder for a touchdown midway through the final quarter that was the team’s longest run of the night. Whitlow had a 5-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
“Offensively, we didn’t play our best but we didn’t turn the ball over,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
“We didn’t play good tonight, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got to be able to run the ball better.”
Whitlow was stopped on a fourth-and-1 run from the Arkansas 8 in the second quarter—the second straight week the Tigers were denied on a fourth-down conversion.
“If you call it, you need to get it, and we didn’t get it,” Malzahn said.
Auburn led only 10-0 late in the first half when Peters partially blocked a punt by Reid Bauer. K.J. Britt returned the ball to the Arkansas 9, setting up Stidham’s 4-yard scoring run.
Peters said special teams coach Larry Porter emphasizes “plays that nobody pays attention to.”
“In the long run, they do add up,” Peters said.
Rakeem Boyd had eight carries for 66 yards, but the Razorbacks (1-3, 0-1) had few offensive highlights. By the final quarter, the back of Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey’s white jersey was stained green, evidence of repeated hits from Auburn’s defense.
The kickoff return by Igbinoghene was a decisive answer to a 10-play field-goal drive to open the second half for the Razorbacks’ only points. Arkansas consumed two of its three timeouts before settling for Conner Limpert’s 29-yard field goal, cutting Auburn’s lead to 17-3.
One week after Cole Kelley threw four interceptions in a loss to North Texas, Storey returned as the starting quarterback and completed 13 of 31 passes for 141 yards with one interception. He had 12 carries for 44 yards.
“I think Ty was a warrior,” said Arkansas coach Chad Morris. “l thought he was gritty and played with a chip on his shoulder and the moment was not too big for him.”
Morris said Storey earned another start.
Kelly made spot appearances for quarterback runs designed to take advantage of his 6-foot-7, 258pound frame, but each time Storey returned the following play.