Oct. 6, 2012
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
AUBURN - The Arkansas Razorbacks forced five Auburn turnovers and sacked Tiger quarterbacks eight times in a 24-7 Razorback win Saturday afternoon before 85,819 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn (1-4, 0-3 SEC), which had only allowed nine sacks this season coming into today's game, gave up eight in the contest. Conversely, Arkansas (2-4, 1-2 SEC) surpassed its season total in the game; the Hogs had recorded seven sacks all season before today.
The Razorbacks outgained the Tigers, 372-321, including a 130-40 advantage in rushing yards, yet Auburn had 22 first downs to Arkansas' 19. Auburn also matched a season-high with five turnovers and was unable to take advantage of Arkansas' two giveaways.
Emory Blake paced the Auburn offense with 10 catches for 118 yards and Auburn's only score. During the game, he hauled in his 100th career reception, becoming the eighth Auburn player to reach that mark, and now has 1,573 receiving yards for his career to move into a tie for 10th all-time at Auburn.
Travante Stallworth, Trovon Reed and Onterio McCalebb each caught two passes for a combined 93 yards. Stallworth had 40, Reed had 37 and McCalebb finished with 16 yards.
The Tigers used three quarterbacks for the first time this season. Kiehl Frazier earned the start and finished 9-of-14 for 118 yards and one interception, but was sacked four times in the game. Clint Moseley saw his first game action of the season, finishing 13-of-21 for 163 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two picks and was sacked four times. Jonathan Wallace did not attempt a pass but rushed twice for 11 yards.
Mike Blakely led the Auburn rushing game with 38 yards on seven carries, and Tre Mason carried six times for 32 yards. McCalebb also had seven carries for 24 yards.
Jonathon Mincy had eight tackles, including one for loss, to lead the Auburn defense. Jermaine Whitehead, Demetruce McNeal and Daren Bates had seven tackles apiece, including a sack for Bates.
Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson finished 20-for-27 for 216 yards, and Dennis Johnson rushed 17 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Cobi Hamilton led the Razorback receivers with five catches for 72 yards.
The Razorbacks struck first, taking their second possession of the game 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run from Dennis Johnson to take a 7-0 lead with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
Arkansas took advantage of an Auburn turnover deep in Tiger territory midway through the second quarter and increased its lead to 10-0 on a 27-yard field goal from Zach Hocker with 6:33 to play in the half; the score would remain 10-0 at the half.
After neither team could generate much offense throughout the third quarter, Auburn mounted a 5-play, 68-yard scoring drive late in the period, cutting the deficit to 10-7 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Moseley to Blake with 0:33 left. All five plays on the scoring drive went for positive yardage, including a 22-yard completion to Tre Mason and a 13-yard rush by Mike Blakely.
But Arkansas would answer on its next possession, moving 75 yards in five plays and pushing the advantage back to 10 points on a trick play, resulting in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Mitchell to Javontee Herndon with 13:30 left in the game. It marked the first time this season for the Hogs to score in the second half of an SEC game.
Arkansas would then put the game out of reach after Auburn's third turnover of the game gave the Razorbacks a short field. Seven plays and 40 yards later, Johnson went over left guard for his second touchdown of the day to make it 24-7 with 8:20 to play.
The Tigers would put together two more drives into Arkansas territory, but two interceptions in the end zone late in the fourth quarter would end Auburn's comeback chances.
Auburn will hit the road next week, traveling to Oxford, Miss., for an SEC showdown with Ole Miss. Kickoff is set for 11:21 a.m. on the SEC Network.