Auburn likely to run often

FAYETTEVILLE — Auburn coaches were holed up in their offices late into the evening Wednesday deciding on final offensive plans after the firing of coordinator Tony Franklin.

Arkansas can’t know exactly what the Tigers have in mind for Saturday’s 4 p. m. game at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, but they have a solid guess.

“You have to look at your weaknesses first, and our weakness is not being able to stop the run,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.

The Razorbacks rank last in the SEC, allowing 208 rushing yards per game.

ADVERTISEMENT

Franklin’s Spread attack had struggled mightily through the air, on third downs, in the red zone and in scoring, so the Razorbacks expect a more ground-oriented approach from the Tigers.

Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville announced Thursday that receivers coach Steve Ensminger, who is now working with the quarterbacks, will handle the play-calling duties.

Tuberville also told reporters in Alabama he would not name an offensive coordinator for the rest of the season and that no one on the staff would be considered as the permanent replacement. Tuberville said he would make a decision on the starter at quarterback — either junior transfer Chris Todd or sophomore Kodi Burns (Fort Smith Northside ) — by early this afternoon, although there is no guarantee he’ll announce it.

Four in a row No. 20 Auburn will be the fourth consecutive ranked opponent Arkansas has played, following Alabama, Texas and Florida.

It’s the first time since The Associated Press poll began on a continuous basis in 1936 that Arkansas has played four ranked teams in a row.

Arkansas has lost to the Crimson Tide, Longhorns and Gators by a combined 139-31.

“Obviously the outcomes haven’t been what we’d like or what we expected,” Razorbacks center Jonathan Luigs said. “But you come to this university to play big-time football, and you couldn’t get any more bigtime than the last few weeks we’ve been through. “ We’ve got our work cut out, but that’s what you play the game for.” Tailback Michael Smith said the brutal schedule has helped the Razorbacks stay focused and motivated. “It doesn’t take as much to get excited and hyped for every game because they are highly ranked teams,” Smith said. “You want to go out there and play big teams and try to have big games against them.”

Cox offers game Cox Communications is offering a free viewing of the Arkansas at Auburn pay-per-view game Saturday to customers who purchased the Razorbacks’ pay-per-view game against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 6. The cable provider admitted to technical issues that marred the earlier game.

Subscribers who want to watch the game should tune to Cox channel 606 on their digital box at 4 p. m. to order the Arkansas-Auburn game. If they have already ordered the game, there is no need to cancel or call in, as Cox said the customers will automatically receive the game at no cost.

For Cox customers who did not purchase the Sept. 6 game, the Arkansas-Auburn game is available for $ 34. 99 to subscribers with a digital box. Sophomore slumps

Arkansas’ Alex Tejada and Auburn’s Wes Byrum each hit 17 of 23 field goal attempts as freshmen last season, but they have experienced sophomore slumps this season.

Tejada is 0 of 3 on field-goal attempts, missed an extra point and, for now at least, has lost his job to walk-on Shay Haddock.

Byrum is still listed as Auburn’s top kicker, but he is 5 of 9 on field-goal attempts and has missed his past three, all from 35 yards or closer. He also missed an extra point in the Tigers’ 14-13 loss at Vanderbilt last week. Ziemba up and down

Lee Ziemba, Auburn’s sophomore offensive tackle from Rogers who has started all 19 games since arriving on campus, has played inconsistently this season, Tigers Coach Tommy Tuberville said.

“So far Lee’s had an up-anddown year,” Tuberville said. “I think that he could have played much better.

“ We moved him from the right to the left side at tackle and it’s taken him a little bit of time to get used to it. At times, he’s played well. He’s been beat up a little bit most of the year, but the upside on Lee is huge.”

Ziemba, 6-8, 290 pounds, has struggled with holding penalties at times this season.

“I think it’s just technique,” Tuberville said. “I think sometimes he gets away from his technique and he [relies on ] his strength.

“ A lot of these big guys tend to get away [from technique ] and think they can bully [the defender ], and a lot of these guys they’re playing against are very athletic and they get the edge on them and they tend to get their arms out a little bit.”

Tuberville added that Ziemba also “has struggled, mentally as well as physically.”

“Hopefully, the second half of the season he can play much better,” Tuberville said.

Ziemba wasn’t made available for interviews this week.

Ziemba’s blocking grades for the season include 91 percent against Louisiana-Monroe, 92 percent against Southern Mississippi, 83 percent against Mississippi State, 75 percent against LSU, 79 percent against Tennessee and 80 percent against Vanderbilt.

Just win, baby Arkansas tailback Michael Smith said he wasn’t aware he is leading the SEC in allpurpose yards until a reporter mentioned it to him this week. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said Smith, who is averaging 150 all-purpose yards per game. “You make sure you don’t look at stats during the season because you just need to keep playing. “ Right now we’re just trying to get a win, so I’m not really worried about stats right now.”