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FAYETTEVILLE — Auburn is the only SEC team to have not scored 20 or more points in a conference game this season. Still, the Tigers (3-4, 0-4 SEC) haven’t been bludgeoned to a tie for last place in the league by blowouts. Their four consecutive losses to current top-15 teams have each been by 10 points or fewer. Three have been by one possession — perhaps none more tormenting than Saturday’s 23-17 loss to then-No. 16 Missouri in two overtimes. “The disappointment from Saturday night can’t linger,” Auburn Coach Hugh Freeze said Monday. “It’s got to move on. We know our past four opponents have a combined record of 25-3 and are really, really good football teams. Which, when you look at how close we are to winning each of those games, it gives me great hope. That’s what you hold on to in times like these.” A week before three missed field goals at home against Missouri, an goal-line fumble helped wipe away Auburn’s 17-0 second-quarter lead in a 20-10 meltdown at now-No. 5 Georgia. Two games before that, SEC officials released a statement, writing a second-quarter touchdown No. 13 Oklahoma scored on a hideout tactic should’ve been erased. The Sooners beat Auburn 24-17. A 3-0 start resulting in a No. 22 rank has unraveled in Freeze’s third season. Auburn has five games remaining: at Arkansas at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, Kentucky, No. 10 Vanderbilt, Mercer and No. 4 Alabama. The Tigers must win three to become bowl-eligible — unmet last season with a 5-7 record — and may implement a shakeup offensively. Starting quarterback Jackson Arnold will share snaps in this week’s practices with backup senior Ashton Daniels, a Stanford transfer. “We’ll kind of see where it goes from there,” Freeze said. The coach later said the expectation is for Arnold to start after strong openings to games. Auburn’s 27 sacks allowed lead the SEC and Arnold was sacked five times Saturday. Arnold, a junior transfer after two seasons with Oklahoma, has completed 124 of 195 passes (63.6%) for 1,190 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. That first interception came Saturday, but Arnold hasn’t passed for a touchdown in the past three games. He had seven rushing scores for the season. “Not anymore. We’re going to play to win with them,” Freeze said, after nodding about past plans to redshirt Daniels. “(Daniels) has prepared to play the last few … it’s really hard to complain about Jackson in the first half of the last two games, for sure. … Jackson was playing at a high level and we’ve got to get that consistency throughout the game or we’ve got to go find a spark.” Auburn has already had to look for a replacement on the offensive line after center Connor Lew tore his ACL during the Missouri loss and will be out for the rest of the season. Freeze said they will prepare freshman Kail Ellis and sophomore Dylan Senda for a chunk of snaps and have tested starting right tackle Mason Murphy at center. Fellow captain running back Damari Alston is also no longer with the team for failing to meet program “standards,” Freeze said Oct. 13. Without both offensive captains, half of the remaining active voted-on captains are on the defense: safety Champ Anthony and defensive end Keldric . Running back Jeremiah Cobb, who was behind Alston’s production last season, leads Auburn’s rushing attack with 564 yards (6.3 average) on 89 carries and 4 touchdowns. Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr., preseason All-SEC first-team and second-team coaches picks, respectively, are Auburn’s top receiving playmakers. Coleman leads with 413 yards on 30 catches, while Singleton has caught 36 passes for 311 yards. Both have a pair of touchdown receptions. Auburn’s defense hasn’t had as many obstacles as its offensive counterparts and has held four ranked teams to an average of 20.75 points. Linebackers Xavier Atkins and Keyron Crawford have almost copied stats. They both lead the team with five sacks, plus a forced fumble recovery and an interception. The pair are also transfers — Atkins from LSU and Crawford from Arkansas State. Atkins leads the SEC with 36 solo tackles and the 10 sacks with Crawford can shroud the seven tackles for loss by linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. Faulk, a preseason All-SEC first-team selection, is always a threat, too. Auburn’s defense figures to be tested once more Saturday against an Arkansas offense that ranks fourth nationally with 513.7 yards per game. “We’re facing one of the more-talented offenses I’ve seen,” Freeze said. “Our kids are going to come and compete like they have every time, but this team is scoring a lot of points on some really good defenses. So it’s a great challenge for us based on what I’ve seen on tape. The expectation is that we’ll play at a high level with great passion and execution. We still have things we can get better at and clean up.” Matt Byrne is the Bob Holt Razorback Reporter, named in honor of the longtime reporter who covered University of Arkansas sports. This position is funded by the ADG Community Journalism Project.
