AUBURN, Ala. — Take your pick of cliches cousin Jen, a lifetime Auburn fan.
Better lucky than good.
An ugly win is better than a pretty loss.
A bumpy ride is better than a smooth walk.
The Auburn Tigers were armed and not dangerous Saturday afternoon in their 24-14 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
A chief’s special has five bullets and the Tigers were holding an empty gun by the time finally ran out on a miserably hot and humid day on The Plains.
The Tigers looked like they might actually survive four interceptions and a lost fumble when they scored on a 67-yard bomb to make it 17-14 Arkansas with 9:50 to play.
Arkansas answered with three straight passes, all incomplete, but the third one ended with a yellow flag and the biggest mistake of the game, pass interference on the defense.
With new life at the 40, Bobby Petrino decided to dance with what brought him and that was his running attack.
At that point Taylen Green was just 12 of 27 passing with two interceptions. His 151 yards passing were highlighted by a 58-yard touchdown to Isaiah Sategna that allowed the Hogs to regain the lead 14-7 late in the third quarter.
On its previous possession the Tigers had tied the game when KeAndre Lambert-Smith scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Payton Thorne.
The senior Thorne began the season as the starter but threw four interceptions in a loss to California and lost his job to redshirt freshman Hank Brown, who threw four touchdowns in a 45-19 win over New Mexico.
Defending the pass has not been Arkansas’ strength this season but on Saturday sophomore TJ Metcalf, who is from Birmingham, Ala., had two interceptions and senior Doneiko Slaughter and Jayden Johnson caught one pick each.
Brown threw three of those interceptions and he was replaced to start the second half by Thorne, who gave Arkansas fits last season in Auburn’s 48-10 win in Fayetteville when he rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown and threw for three more.
The Razorbacks created some of their luck Saturday with pursuit and hard play, but the offense sputtered so hard in the third quarter that Green came out and Malachi Singleton came in. At that point nothing was firing for the Hogs.
Green was back for the next series and that was when he hooked up with Sategna.
Auburn stopped itself with an interception and Arkansas had a drive that was very telltale of the afternoon.
The Razorbacks ran eight plays but netted only 20 yards, converting one fourth down but facing another. That was enough for a 43-yard field goal and a 17-7 lead, but then the Tigers got the 67-yard touchdown pass.
When Auburn was hit with the pass interference Arkansas’ offensive line took advantage of the opportunity. The Razorbacks went with 10 consecutive runs and marched 60 yards for the insurance touchdown.
A road win in the SEC requires some luck and it certainly doesn’t have to be pretty because they are hard to come by.
Auburn’s loud fans were so ready for their role that on the first play of the game the Razorbacks were hit with a delay of game penalty.
Arkansas ended up attempting 28 passes but they ran it 55 times, eating up the clock and the time of possession — 36:36 for the Hogs and just 23:24 for the Tigers — to overcome Auburn’s advantage in total yards of 431-334.
The record book will not show all of Auburn’s mistakes, or Arkansas’ either, it will be a 24-14 win. The Razorbacks are now 3-1 but face three ranked teams in the next three weeks. Luck will be welcomed, but they’ll need to make some of it on their own.
