Auburn football season is on the brink after second loss

Auburn has played four opponents. They crushed SWAC Alabama State (2-1), lost to the University of California, beat (0-3) New Mexico, and now have been defeated by their first SEC opponent in Arkansas (3-1) 24 to 14. It was Auburn's second five turnover performance and Auburn's second disappointing home loss.

Auburn though they had their quarterback situation settled moving forward after the win over New Mexico. Nothing could be further from the truth in the wake of Saturday's performance at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Freshman QB Hank Brown got the start, but the offense scored no points with him at the helm. A fumble going into the end zone by backup running back Domari Alston cost Auburn a touchdown and being able to go into halftime tied with Arkansas at 7. The coaching staff benched Brown for the senior Payton Thorne in the second half. The offense came alive under Thorne's second half leadership. At one point in the fourth quarter Auburn was just three points away from tying the game; but the Arkansas rushing attack was too much for Auburn's undersized front seven and Arkansas chewed up clock and yards down the stretch.

That Arkansas rushing attack combined with Auburn's five turnover meant that Arkansas dominated time of possession 36.6 minutes to Auburn's 23.4 and meant that Auburn's defenders were battling both the Razorbacks and exhaustion in that critical fourth quarter where they failed to get critical stops.

Arkansas rushed for 183 yards to Auburn's 143. Auburn held Arkansas to just 151 yards passing; while throwing it for 283 yards – most of that was in the second half when Thorne was trying to lead the Tigers to a come from behind win.

Arkansas turned the ball over twice to Auburn's four interceptions and a fumble.

Arkansas was penalized four times to Auburn's five' but the Auburn penalties came at crucial times keeping Arkansas drives alive. A missed holding call late was a key moment in the game.

Thorne completed 13 passes on 22 attempts for two touchdowns and one interception and a 161 QB rating. Brown completed the ball seven times on 13 attempts with three interceptions, no touchdowns, and a QB rating of just 54.2. Both Auburn quarterbacks are 1 and 1 as starters.

Senior running back Jarquez Hunter had 67 yards rushing for the Tigers on just 12 attempts. Hunter was averaging 5.7 yards per carry; but the coaching staff appeared to panic and abandon the run game as Auburn was down. Running back Domari Alston had 38 yards rushing on just three touches.

Senior KeAndre Lambert-Smith had the best individual day for an Auburn wide receiver in years. His five catches for 156 yards and both Auburn touchdowns allowed the Tigers to get back in the game. Freshman receiver Malcolm Simmons had five catches for 44 yards and two rushes for eight yards. Sophomore Caleb Burton III had two receptions for 49 yards.

Auburn defensive back Champ Anthony was carted off the field with a serious leg injury. It appeared to be broken, which would effectively end his season.

Arkansas missed a first half field goal and elected not to kick a short field goal with 70 seconds left in the game making the final score appear closer than the actual play of game.

Auburn is 2 and 2 after the first four weeks (all four games at home) and it doesn't get any easier for the Tigers. Oklahoma is coming to Auburn next Saturday. (They are trailing Tennessee 22 to 9 in the fourth quarter as this is being written). Oklahoma has its own offensive issues to deal with and (like Auburn) a coach that has not yet lived up to the fans' expectations. Both teams need an SEC win in the worst possible way. After that the Tigers play Georgia at Georgia and Missouri at Missouri. If the Tigers lose to Oklahoma – they could start the season 2 and 5......and still have to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa,

Second year Coach Hugh Freeze is going to have to address the mistakes and all the turnovers moving forward or this season could be the fourth consecutive disappointing season since the Auburn board of trustees inexplicably fired Coach Gus Malzahn after that strange 2020 10 game COVID season without the fans present.

Kickoff for the Oklahoma game is going to be either 2:30 or 3:20 p.m. on Saturday September 28.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com