Former OU quarterback benched
By DAVID SEELEY
The Sequoyah County Times
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — Four fourth-quarter turnovers in about a nine-minute span by the Arkansas Razorbacks doomed them as they fell 33-24 to the Auburn Tigers in a Southeastern Conference football game Saturday at Frank Broyles Field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Trailing 24-19 with 12:03 left in the game, the Tigers (4-4 overall, 1-4 in SEC play), who snapped their four-game losing streak, regained the lead for good, thanks to its defense.
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Auburn cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant picked off Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green and returned it 49 yards for the pick-6.
The Tigers went for two points, with back-up quarterback Ashton Daniels, who was inserted into the game after starting quarterback and former Oklahoma Sooner Jackson Arnold was benched after throwing a pick-6 just before halftime, put Auburn ahead 27-24 with 9:15 left to play in the game.
On the ensuing drive for the Razorbacks (2-6, 0-4), who lost for the sixth straight time, Green hit wide receiver O’Mega Blake, who  then fumbled the ball at the Auburn 48, with Auburn linebacker Sylvester Smith returning the fumble 22 yards to the Arkansas 34-yard line with 8:33 remaining in the game.
The Tigers turned the takeaway into points as Alex McPherson hit a 47-yard field goal to increase the Auburn advantage to 30-24 with 6:23 left in the game.
On the next drive for the Hogs, the turnover bug bit them once more as Green was picked off once more by Pleasant, who returned the interception 17 yards to the Arkansas 38-yard line with 4:27 remaining to play.
Thanks to a fourth-down conversion, the Tigers melted down the clock and put away the game with McPherson’s 37-yard field goal with 1:06 left to play for a 33-24 lead.
After Rodney Hill returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the Arkansas 35-yard line for the Hogs, Green threw his third pick of the game as Auburn linebacker Kensley Louidor-Faustin got the interception and returned it 11 yards to the Arkansas 46 with 51 seconds remaining.
The Razorbacks got the opening kickoff and drove as deep as the Auburn 30-yard line, but on fourth down the Hogs were stopped for a loss back to the Auburn 33 with 12:34 left in the first quarter.
Thanks to a fourth-down conversion, the Tigers drove 66 yards in nine plays as Arnold connected with receiver Cam Coleman on a 23-yard touchdown pass in which Coleman hauled in the pass one-handed while being tightly defended. McPherson kicked the extra point to give Auburn a 7-0 lead with 7:52 remaining in the period.
On the ensuing possession, the Hogs, thanks to a 41-yard pass from Green to tight end Rohan Jones, moved from their 25-yard line to the Auburn 30, but once more, the Razorbacks fizzled out offensively and ended up punting, with Devin Bale’s punt pinning the Tigers at their own 6 with 4:51 left in the period, which saw Auburn take a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Auburn drive did produce points as McPherson hit a 36-yard field goal to increase Auburn’s advantage to 10-0 with 12:05 left before halftime.
The Razorbacks finally found the end zone as they went 75 yards in six plays as Green connected with wide receiver Raylen Sharpe for a 58-yard touchdown pass. Scott Starzyk hit the PAT to cut the Auburn lead to 10-7 with 8:36 remaining in the first half.
After the Hogs stopped the Tigers on the ensuing possession, the Razorbacks went 48 yards in four plays as running back Braylen Russell took it in from two yards out. Starzyk’s extra point gave Arkansas its first lead of the game at 14-10 with 5:17 left in the first half.
The Tigers looked as if they were primed to regain their lead, but on first down at the Arkansas 17-yard line, Arnold had his pass picked off by Arkansas cornerback Kani Walker, who went untouched 89 yards for a pick-6 with 48 seconds remaining before halftime. Starzyk hit the PAT to increase the Arkansas lead to 21-10 at the half.
When the Tigers came back out for the first half’s final possession, Arnold was benched in favor of Daniels.
Pleasant returned the second-half kickoff 49 yards to the Auburn 49-yard line.
The Tigers drove as deep as the Arkansas 5-yard line, but they had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by McPherson to cut the Arkansas lead to 21-13 with 10:21 left in the third quarter.
After stopping Arkansas on its opening second-half possession, the Tigers partially blocked Bale’s punt, setting Auburn up at the Arkansas 43-yard line with 8:55 remaining in the period.
The Tigers got into the red zone, but the drive stymied. Auburn settled for a 43-yard field goal by McPherson to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 21-16 with 5:05 left in the period.
The Razorbacks took their ensuing possession off the touchback at their own 25-yard line. Thanks to a 50-yard pass from Green to Jones, the Hogs got as deep as the Auburn 9-yard line, but they had to settle for a Starzyk 27-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining in the quarter to put Arkansas ahead 24-16 after three periods.
The Tigers responded as the drove from their own 18-yard line to the Arkansas 4, thanks to a 48-yard pass from Daniels to Eric Singleton. However, they faced fourth-and-goal and were going to go for it, but a false start penalty moved them to the Arkansas 9. The Tigers had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by McPherson to cut the Auburn deficit to 24-19 with 12:03 left to play in the game.
The Razorbacks will conclude their three-game homestand with a home game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
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