Sarah Bentham • Arkansas News Bureau
By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Auburn ran for two yards, ran for two more and added a 10-yard gain. The Tigers went for two yards again, zero yards and nine more.
Down by seven, Auburn opened the third quarter by patiently calling 12 consecutive run plays on a drive that moved inside Arkansas territory. But a holding call stunted Auburn’s forward progress, the Tigers had to punt and Arkansas’ Joe Adams only needed one run to break the tight game open.
Adams, lined up in the backfield, outraced Auburn for a 92-yard touchdown run on Arkansas’ first play from scrimmage in the third quarter of its 38-14 win Saturday. The second-longest rushing touchdown in school history pushed the Hogs out to a two-touchdown lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish thanks to an strong second-half defensive effort in front of 74,191 in Razorback Stadium.
“One shot and done,” Arkansas offensive guard Grant Cook, who got one of the key blocks on Adams’ touchdown run. “You can’t beat that.”
The big play helped Arkansas avenge last season’s loss at Auburn. It also ended the Tigers’ streak of 11 consecutive wins against SEC foes, which dated back to Nov. 27, 2009.
More important, it kept the Razorbacks in the SEC West race. Alabama and LSU improved to 3-0 on Saturday. Auburn fell to 2-1. Arkansas is 1-1.
“If we continue to take care of our business, things will fall into place,” Wilson said. “We’re going to continue to work. Anything can happen.”
But Arkansas, which trailed 35-17 at halftime against Texas A&M last week, had to survive another rough start before notching its fifth win.
Wilson, fresh off his school-record 510-yard passing performance against the Aggies, completed just one of his first five passes Saturday. It was no surprise the Razorbacks managed 25 yards on two drives, both of which resulted in punts.
Sarah Bentham • Arkansas News Bureau
Auburn, meanwhile, ran all over the Razorbacks in the first quarter. Auburn tailback Michael Dyer, an Arkansas native, scored the game’s first touchdown on a 55-yard run. Quarterback Kiehl Frazier, another Arkansas high school product, also had a 7-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers raced out to a 14-7 lead thanks to 141 rushing yards in the first quarter.
“We got off to a little rocky start there,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said.
But Wilson and the offense settled in and found open space in Auburn’s secondary.
He calmly completed 19 of his final 20 passes in the half and led the Razorbacks to three touchdowns.
Running back Broderick Green got the first on a 6-yard run in the first quarter. Wilson picked up the second with a 1-yard dive on fourth down that tied the game. Then, Wilson found Jarius Wright for a 5-yard score which gave the Razorbacks a 21-14 lead at halftime.
Wilson completed 24 of 36 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, leading an offense that eventually put up 438 yards. At one point, Wilson completed 19 straight passes Saturday night, an impressive stretch that proved to be the third-longest completion streak in SEC history.
“You really don’t (know),” Wilson about the streak. “I thought I should’ve completed all of them. I look at my game and go, ‘God, it wasn’t very good.’ … But 19 in a row is good.”
Said Petrino: “We were in a good rhythm there after the third possession and we really started to move the ball. … Tyler did a nice job.”
Arkansas’ defense deserved even more credit for its performance after being roughed up early.
The combination of Dyer, Frazier and running back Onterio McCalebb repeatedly gashed the Razorbacks for big gains in the first half. But Arkansas made adjustments and settled down after Frazier’s 7-yard run late in the first quarter, taking advantage of Auburn’s struggling passing attack.
Frazier and Auburn starter Barrett Trotter combined to complete just 8 of 23 passes for 99 yards. They tossed three second-half interceptions as well. Two of them were hauled in by Arkansas safety Tramain Thomas, who had been demoted to second-team duty to start Saturday’s game.
“I think it was pretty obvious what happened,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “We did all the classic things that you cannot do to win games on the road. … We turned the ball over three times. Against a good team on the road, that certainly is not going to get you any wins.”
Auburn, which rolled to 168 yards in the first quarter, was held to 227 the rest of the game.
Dyer, outside of his 55-yard touchdown run, was limited to 57 yards on his other 20 rushing attempts.
“What really motivated us is coach saying we weren’t a good tackling team,” said Arkansas linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, who finished with 12 tackles (10 solo) and two for losses. “We wanted to come out and show that we can be. That’s what pushed us.”
Sarah Bentham • Arkansas News Bureau
The early stop in the third quarter proved to be an enormous moment for the Hogs. Auburn ate up 7:02 on its opening drive before the Razorbacks finally held firm and forced the punt.
Then Adams took over, turning the corner and following blockers on an electrifying run.
It was the all-purpose star’s fourth touchdown this season. Adams, who missed the second half of the Texas A&M game because of a rib injury, now has a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and two punt return touchdowns in Arkansas’ six games.
“(Offensive coordinator) Garrick (McGee) thought it would be a great time to open the second half with it,” Petrino said. “They blitzed from the opposite side, so it worked out perfect. …
“Joe made a great run. We had some good blocks on it, but what a tremendous run.”
Arkansas added a field goal by Zach Hocker in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 31-14. And the Hogs capped the scoring on Wilson’s 18-yard touchdown pass to running back Dennis Johnson.
It pushed Arkansas moves into its bye week at 5-1 and in good position in the SEC West race despite its early-season loss to Alabama. The Razorbacks will use the down time to regroup and rest after playing without running back Ronnie Wingo, defensive end Tenarius Wright and defensive tackle Robert Thomas.
“It’s big,” Wilson said of the win heading into the bye week. “It gives the guys that are a little banged up a chance to heal … It also gives us a chance to go in the film room and see what we missed offensively and defensively, come out and regroup and get up for the second half.”
