AUBURN, Ala. – Shadarius Toodle made one of the most dazzling debuts in program history, Byrum Brown accounted for three second-half touchdowns and Alex McPherson kicked a 43-yard field goal in the final minute to give Auburn a 26-23 comeback win over Arkansas Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Today was a really proud moment. These guys continue to strain and fight and claw. I was happy for these guys to come out on that end of it,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “I’m super grateful to our fans and the Auburn family.”
Toodle, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker from Mobile, became the first SEC freshman since at least 1996 with three sacks in his first career game.
“I’m truly blessed. I listened to my coaches, prepared and came out ready on the field,” said Toodle, who burst onto the SEC scene with 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, 11 tackles and a pass breakup in his flashy premiere. “It was exciting, having fun and playing like I played in high school. I’m quiet. I just do my work, listen to my coaches and try to be a great teammate.”
“He’s put his head down and kept working,” said Golesh of Toodle, who was promoted from the scout team three weeks ago. “He’s earned the opportunity to go be confident today. It was huge for him, and it was huge for our program for a bunch of guys to see that.”
In another turnover-free outing, Brown completed 23 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He added 120 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Trailing 10-3 at the half, Toodle recorded his second sack of the game, leading to a missed 51-yard field goal attempt by the Razorbacks.
After struggling on offense in the first half, Auburn produced back-to-back touchdown drives on its first two second half possessions.
“In the second half, we were ahead of the chains,” Golesh said. “We were able to run the ball effectively, get in the red zone and convert there.”
On second-and-12, Brown passed to a leaping Chas Nimrod, who absorbed a heavy hit but held on for a 15-yard touchdown. Auburn missed the extra point and trailed 10-9 with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter.
Rayshawn Pleasant saved a touchdown by chasing down Arkansas running back Cam Settles after a 46-yard gain.
Continuing his remarkable debut, Toodle made his third sack on third-and-5 from Auburn’s 11-yard line, leading to a 37-yard field goal that gave Arkansas a 13-9 lead late in the third quarter.
Auburn answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, taking a 16-13 lead on Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run with 12:50 to play.
Arkansas (3-6, 1-5) bounced a 46-yard field goal off the left upright to tie the score at 16-16 with 9:32 to go.
The Tigers went three-and-out, but Arkansas muffed Auburn’s punt and started its next drive at the Razorbacks’ 13-yard line.
Auburn’s Michael Matthews-Canty and Darrion Smith made back-to-back sacks, forcing an Arkansas punt.
“The defense kept finding ways,” Golesh said. “We kept finding ways to affect the quarterback.”
Brown started Auburn’s drive with a 39-yard run, then on third-and-12, the senior quarterbacks avoided a sack, rolled to his right and connected with Keshaun Singleton for a 28-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 23-16 lead with 3:56 to play. Singleton led Auburn with six catches for 58 yards and a score.
Toodle made his fourth tackle for loss on the Razorbacks’ next possession, but Arkansas hit a 43-yard pass to its tight end then tied the score at 23-23 on KJ Jackson’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Jordan with 1:54 remaining.
With the game on the line, Auburn drove 50 yards in 10 plays, taking the lead on McPherson’s clutch field goal with 33 seconds left on the clock.
“He’s one of the toughest human beings in this program, not fazed by anything,” Golesh said. “There were 89,000 people who thought he was going to make it.”
On the game’s opening possession, Auburn twice went for it on fourth down on its half of the field, converting on a fourth-and-1 pass from Brown to Christian Neptune before getting stopped a yard short on fourth-and-2 at Auburn’s 47-yard line.
The Razorbacks picked up one first down before missing a 53-yard field goal attempt.
Auburn generated only one first down on its next five drives while Arkansas took a 10-0 lead on Max Gilbert’s 38-yard field goal and Braylen Russell’s 2-yard touchdown run after Sutton Smith began the Razorbacks’ fourth possession with a 65-yard run.
Auburn’s defense kept the Tigers within striking distance when AnQuon Fegans made his third interception in four games.
Toodle sacked KJ Jackson on third down, forcing a punt with two minutes left in the first half.
Brown threw over the middle to Jeremiah Cobb for 27 yards, Auburn’s longest gain of the half. Brown then completed to Neptune, who made a spectacular bobbling catch for 16 yards, setting up McPherson’s 33-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half to trim the Arkansas lead to 10-3.
Auburn (5-4, 3-4) heads west next week for another Magnolia State matinee, visiting Mississippi State Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on either ESPN or ESPN2 along with the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer