Tag: Arkansas Auburn

Not even five minutes into Saturday’s game against Auburn were boos heard for Arkansas inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Hogs trailed by two touchdowns after Auburn scored on its first drive then returned a punt for a touchdown after Arkansas punted at the conclusion of its first.

Things never got much better.

Auburn took a 24-point lead into halftime and crashed Arkansas out of bowl contention with a 48-10 win Saturday. The Razorbacks’ loss ensures a sub-.500 record and with two games left, Arkansas is danger of having its worst season outside of the Chad Morris era since John L. Smith’s interim season in 2012.

Arkansas went three-and-out on its first four possessions, though on one the Hogs did achieve a field goal. Little did it matter, considering Auburn was already ahead 14-0 by that point after scoring on its opening drive then returning a punt for a touchdown after Arkansas’ initial possession.

Not only did the offense look as inept as it did under previous offensive coordinator Dan Enos, the defense had perhaps its worst game of the season, too. Auburn gained 277 yards by the break and the Tigers ultimately ran for 354 yards.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson was replaced at the start of the fourth quarter and his back-up, Jacolby Criswell, quickly led Arkansas to its first touchdown. Criswell had a 60-yard run and capped the first drive of the quarter with a pass to Isaac TeSlaa.

Arkansas will host Florida International in what is likely to be a signifcantly less-than-full stadium next Saturday.

Just wait. They will turn on Hugh Freeze, too. If they haven’t already, that is.

The nature of college football is such that a coach in his first year on the job is beloved, or close to it. He is the savior of the program, everything his predecessor wasn’t. He’ll do things no coach has done since (insert-name-of-greatest-coach-in-last-50-years) here.

Most coaches get that sort of treatment in their first year in new digs. If they’re lucky – and good – that first year is good enough that the feelings will last another year. After that, though, the expectations begin to increase. And if you aren’t at double-digit wins by Year Four, expect a third of fan base to be calling for your job.

Welcome to the SEC, a league with which Auburn coach Hugh Freeze was already familiar when he became the Tigers’ head coach in November 2022. Freeze had coached Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016 and led the Rebels to a 39-25 record at the time, which ultimately turned into a 10-25 record thanks to the program vacating wins for four of those seasons for a number of academic and recruiting violations. The investigation into such violations already revealed some personal indiscretions, too. Those were, in fact, the thing that led to his resignation.

He picked up at Liberty – because, of course – and showed that, on the field, he could still coach, apparently. After four years with the Flames, out of the limelight, Auburn came knocking.

And for it? The Tigers look like they’re heading for a 6-6 season. But, hey, it’s a game better than they were last year!

If Auburn beats Arkansas, OK, fine, a 7-5 record is headed to the Plains. No worse than what Bryan Harsin did in his time running the show at Auburn. But, it is Auburn. A great portion of the fan base feels like the Tigers are up there with Alabama, LSU and Georgia as a should-be blue-blood in the SEC. A 6-6 record sure ain’t what Freeze was hired for.

So a loss to Arkansas – lowly Arkansas, a team that has been fighting the Tigers in the bottom four of the SEC power rankings all season – would be devastating. Because imprudence can only be overlooked if you’re winning.