Big things were expected of both Auburn and Arkansas entering this season, but the two SEC West teams have been major disappointments. With its hopes of challenging for top honors in the conference long gone, Auburn has now turned to a freshman quarterback in Sean White, who delivered the team’s first conference win in his first ever road start.
Can the freshman once again get the job done on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who are in grave danger of missing out on bowl eligibility?
Get a full breakdown of this crucial (bottom of the) SEC West showdown. Also, don’t forget to check out more SEC Week 8 action with our previews of Tennessee vs. Alabama and Texas A&M vs. Ole Miss.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Auburn Tigers vs. Arkansas Razorbacks Preview
Where: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville
When: Saturday, October 24, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Auburn Tigers (+5.5) at Arkansas Razorbacks (-5.5) – view all NCAA Football lines
TV Broadcast: SEC Network
Betting on the Auburn Tigers (4-2, 1-2 SEC)
Auburn finally got its first SEC win of the season as it just held on to beat Kentucky, 30-27, in Lexington. Peyton Barbre scored the first and last touchdowns for the Tigers, who had gone 0-10 ATS in their last 10 games.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Barbre has been one of the few bright spots in a wildly disappointing Auburn season. The sophomore running back ranks fifth in the SEC in rushing yards per game (108.3) and is tied for third with eight touchdowns.
However, Arkansas has a solid run defense, which means that Sean White will likely be called upon to pass a fair bit. The freshman quarterback fared very well in his first ever road start against Kentucky. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 255 yards, but is yet to throw his first career touchdown.
He’ll get a very good chance to do so as he faces an awful Arkansas pass defense that is comfortably dead last in the conference in passing yards allowed (258.3), completion percentage allowed (68.3) and passer rating allowed (145.3).
Auburn has comfortably beaten Arkansas in two meetings with Gus Malzahn as head coach.
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Betting on the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4, 1-2 SEC)
The Arkansas Razorbacks should be the more desperate of the two teams heading into this game, not only because they’re coming off a loss, but because they’re running out of winnable games to reach six wins and bowl eligibility. Their next game against Auburn is one of those games, so expect a greater sense of urgency from them.
The Razorbacks, who were off last week, suffered a predictable loss to Alabama at Tuscaloosa last time out. It was a horrible matchup for Arkansas, as the Razorbacks running game was completely shut down by the Crimson Tide. Alex Collins was held to a pitiful 26 yards on 12 carries.
Collins, who had rushed for over 150 yards in the three games prior to Alabama, should be able to return to form against Auburn’s atrocious run defense. The Tigers are surrendering 197 yards per game on the ground (second-worst in the SEC) and have allowed 14 rushing touchdowns (dead-last).
The Auburn pass defense has been pretty accommodating as well, giving up 228 passing yards per game. That should allow hit-or-miss quarterback Brandon Allen, who’s actually No. 3 in the SEC in passer rating, to move the ball with a little more consistency.
Arkansas, though, has been consistently bad at home this season. It has lost its last three home games, averaging just 19 points in the process.
The under has gone 10-1 in Arkansas’s last 11 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Auburn shows enough fight with Sean White and Peyton Barbre to push Arkansas all the way. The Tigers probably lose, 24-21, but cover as +5.5 underdogs.
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