WATCH: Auburn defense, offense land combo punch at Arkansas
After falling behind on the road, Auburn got touchdowns from the offense and defense to retake the lead over Arkansas. It all started with a 57-yard punt by Oscar Chapman, pinning the Razorbacks deep in their own redzone. A pair of sacks led to a defensive score before Bo Nix and the offense added the second blow.
On second-and-nine from the Arkansas 12-yard line, Auburn’s Colby Wooden came up with a sack. The next play led to another sack and fumble. After Derick Hall made the initial hit, forcing the ball free, Marcus Harris jumped on the loose ball for six points, losing a shoe in the process.
Arkansas got the ball back down 21-17 and drove down the field but failed to convert a fourth-and-three on a KJ Jefferson run. The Auburn offense took over with a chance to match the defensive effort.
Bo Nix dropped back on first down, finding Georgia-transfer Demetris Robertson deep down the field for a 71-yard touchdown. The second quick touchdown strike put Auburn up 28-17 over Arkansas midway through the third quarter.
Nix is 16-for-20 over three quarters, passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Robertson has two catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Bryan Harsin’s recent comments on Bo Nix
Throughout the quarterback controversy, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin has provided honest feedback on the play of Bo Nix and TJ Finley. After swapping quarterbacks early in the season, Nix bounced back with two impressive games.
“His ability to scramble, we saw it. He is very elusive and did a great job in that game,” Harsin said two weeks ago, following SEC Player of the Week honors. “That’s not how the play is drawn up, but there’s going to be things that guys are going to do in games where they go and make plays. And that’s exactly what he did. There’s some structure to it where guys have a chance to get open and try to find the open area. But we like to be able to set our feet, we like to be able to get the ball out of our hand. Sometimes the defense has a lot to say with that. And they did, they provided some pressure.”
During last week’s loss against Georgia, Harsin was less optimistic about the offense. Frustrated with the 34-10 loss, he detailed his thoughts about Auburn’s offense.
“We’ve got to finish drives,” Harsin said. “That’s the most frustrating thing right now … I know that we can move the ball. I know that. Can we score touchdowns? Because that gets pretty old if we can’t.”
Early returns against Arkansas look closer to good Auburn than bad Auburn, but there is plenty of time remaining for things to swing either way.