From a consistency standpoint, Reid Bauer didn’t have the day he wanted Saturday against Auburn.
Maybe his stern talking-to from Sam Pittman after a short punt against the Tigers motivated him. Bauer kicked a 78-yard punt in the second quarter against Auburn in the Hogs’ 41-27 win, ultimately helping the senior to SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Those 78 yards tied him at 10th for longest punt in school history. The boot was the second longest by an SEC punter this year and it’s the longest by an Arkansas punter since Sam Irwin-Hill kicked a 79-yarder in 2013.
Against the Tigers, Bauer had three punts for a 43-yard average. Auburn did not return a single one.
Bauer had been Arkansas’ regular punter the last two years but lost the starting job in camp to freshman Max Fletcher. Since re-gaining the job three games ago, three of Bauer’s seven punts have gone for more than 50 yards. If he had the number of punts to qualify for the SEC leaderboard, Bauer’s 47-yard average would be tops in the conference by more than a yard.
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