The Opening Drive: Auburn vs. Arkansas

AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to Jordan-Hare Stadium after playing three of four October games on the road, Auburn welcomes Arkansas to the Plains Saturday morning.

“Excited to be back home, excited to play at Jordan-Hare,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “We have to go play our best football on Saturday, and we have to go find a way.”

The Razorbacks’ conference win came at Vanderbilt on Oct. 17, the same day Auburn knocked off top-ranked Georgia between the hedges. 

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson, a Montgomery native, led St. James to a 3A state championship on Pat Dye Field as a junior in 2022. 

“This is a team that's built on running the football, built on a play action pass off of it,” Golesh said. “They have a mobile quarterback that's done some really good things. The quarterback has gotten better every single week, and they have enough playmakers. We have to play really sound. We have to stop the run, we have to affect the quarterback and we have to play good pass defense.”

Defensively, Golesh expects the Razorbacks to blitz often. 

“We have to establish the run game and we have to get the quarterback settled and not live in third-and-longs,” he said. “We have to be efficient on first and second down. We have to be more explosive offensively, and we’re working hard to do that. We have to get better at early down efficiency.”

After starting for the first time last week, sophomore right guard Jacobe’ Ward hopes to make his first home start this Saturday.

“That would mean a lot, especially for me and my family,” said Ward, a 6-4, 340-pounder from Savannah, Georgia. “It would be a crazy experience, and I want to keep gaining on from there. Hopefully earn this full-time job and keep going on for the next couple years.”

Seeking its third SEC win after playing four consecutive ranked opponents, Auburn (4-4, 2-4) hosts Arkansas (3-5, 1-4) Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell and Ronnie Brown will provide play-by-play, analysis and sideline reporting for listeners. 

“You watch this Arkansas team, they’ve gotten better every single week,” Golesh said Wednesday in his last media availability before Saturday’s showdown. “We’ve emphasized finish in general. These dudes (Arkansas) will go finish. They’re fighting, they’re scrapping, they’re getting better and better, and that’s what I hope we are doing.”

THREE QUESTIONS WITH WR DESHAWN SPENCER

Q: What was it like to have a season-high four receptions for 62 yards last week?

A: Ever since high school, I’ve never been a guy to talk about my personal stats or what I do during the game. It was a cool feeling to put my team in a better predicament to be successful. It was good to help out my team. 

Q: How much have you continued to develop as a receiver on this level?

A: I feel like I’ve developed a lot, getting bigger and my detail of my route running. When I first got here, I was struggling with the top of the route, getting in and out of breaks. It’s about building your process, doing those little things and contining to get better and better detailing out my process. 

Q: What have you seen from Byrum Brown’s leadership, in victory and defeat? 

A: He’s a phenomenal leader. He’s always saying, ‘Don’t get complacent, don’t get comfortable, we’ve got to keep going, we’ve got to finish the game.’ B is a tremendous leader and one of the best quarterbacks I’ve been around. I love him. He’s a great teammate. Who he is around cameras and in general, he’s the same person off the field as well as on the field.

INSIDE THE SERIES: ARKANSAS

Auburn leads the series against Arkansas, 21-13-1, including a 9-7-1 record on the Plains. The road team has won the last five meetings by double figures. Saturday marks the 35th consecutive season the two teams have met dating back to 1992. It marks Auburn’s third-longest active streak against an opponent, trailing Georgia (83) and Alabama (78).

Auburn has averaged 35.0 points in its 21 wins against Arkansas as opposed to 19.7 points in its 13 losses in the series. Since 1992, the Tigers have averaged 202.1 rushing yards per game against the Razorbacks, the team’s third highest average against a SEC opponent.

Last Five Meetings

• Oct. 25, 2025 (Fayetteville, AR): Auburn 33, Arkansas 24
• Sept. 21, 2024 (Auburn, AL): Arkansas 24, Auburn 14
• Nov. 11, 2023 (Fayetteville, AR): Auburn 48, Arkansas 10
• Oct. 29, 2022 (Auburn, AL): Arkansas 41, Auburn 27
• Oct. 16, 2021 (Fayetteville, AR): Auburn 38, Arkansas 23

BY THE NUMBERS

4: Auburn capped off a stretch of four straight games against AP top 20 opponents in October, three of which came on the road. The Tigers were the only team in the country to play four ranked opponents last month.

10: With his 21-yard touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod in the second quarter, Byrum Brown became the 10th FBS player since 1956, including the fifth to have played in the SEC, with 70 or more career passing and 35 or more career rushing TD.

12: Auburn's 12 players with a reception at Ole Miss were the most in a game since 2005 vs. South Carolina. Three Tigers in Nimrod (62), DeShawn Spencer (62) and Christian Neptune (53) logged 50 or more receiving yards in a SEC game for the first time since 2024.

31: Alex McPherson's 31 career points against Arkansas - 8-for-8 on field goals, 7-for-7 on PATs - are the most against any SEC team in his Auburn career. He tied an Auburn and SEC record with six field goals against the Razorbacks a season ago.