Razorbacks report

Malzahn respectful of Chavis

Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis watches pregame warmups prior to a game against Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Lexington, Ky.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Auburn managed 225 total yards in its 34-3 victory over the University of Arkansas last season in Auburn, Ala.

That is not an anomaly when Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn pits his hurry-up, no-huddle offense against a defense coordinated by John Chavis. The pair will match wits for the 10th time at 11 a.m. Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium when the No. 11 Tigers face Arkansas.

The Tigers' 225 total yards marked the seventh-lowest output for a Malzahn offense in his 13-plus years as a college coordinator and head coach.

"They got after us," Malzahn said Wednesday. "Stuffed our run. Did a very good job of eliminating the big play. They kept things in front of them."

That has happened with some frequency in Chavis-Malzahn matchups.

Defenses coordinated by Chavis have accounted for four of the 11 worst offensive showings by Malzahn teams, based on research by 247Sports.com's Brandon Marcello.

Arkansas outrushed the Tigers 149-91 and outpassed them 141-134 for a total offense advantage of 290-225.

"We played our hearts out," Arkansas cornerback Jarques McClellion said. "That's all I really think we just did."

Auburn scored touchdowns after a 48-yard punt return to the Arkansas 27, after an 11-yard blocked punt return to the Arkansas 9 and on Noah Igbinoghene's 96-yard kickoff return. The Tigers also got a field goal after a 40-yard fumble return to the Arkansas 2.

Auburn put together its most impressive drive in the fourth quarter, an eight-play, 72-yard march that ended on JaTarvious Whitlow's 15-yard touchdown run with 8:18 remaining.

"One of the things we did a really good job of was limiting the big plays," Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. "And that really stood out after watching the film. The second thing is we tackled well. We had a great plan of getting them off the field on third down."

Malzahn expressed his respect for Chavis this week.

"He's proven over the course of time that he's one of the best," Malzahn said. "He does what he does, but he always has a wrinkle or two and puts his guys in really good positions to be successful."

Chavis said the Tigers have had time to re-examine all the things "they've hurt you with before" during an open date.

"They've got some talent, they've got some speed, a couple of the fastest guys in the nation," Chavis said, referencing receivers Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove. "You're going to see a bunch of deep balls and you're going to see speed sweeps, reverses, going to see throwbacks, so you've got to prepare for almost everything."

Arkansas safety Joe Foucha said eye discipline will play a big role for the Razorbacks as Auburn runs all kind of motions, formation adjustments and sweeping action.

"I know they're going to throw the ball a lot," Foucha said. "Everyone knows that. So, not letting the ball get thrown over our heads is going to be one of the biggest things when we play Auburn."

Be like Nationals

Arkansas Coach Chad Morris used the current Washington Nationals as inspiration for the Razorbacks in a team meeting Monday.

The Nationals were 19-31 on May 23 before rallying for a wild-card spot and now a place in the World Series.

"This isn't the first time I've been in a situation as a head coach at 2-4 in Year 2," Morris said. "It happened at SMU. We were 2-4 in Year 2 coming off a devastating loss against Tulsa in overtime to have No. 11 ranked Houston come in at home."

SMU upset the Cougars 38-16.

"Really the thing you ... do is you go back to work, you self evaluate, you self audit and you go back to just daily decisions and encouraging your players to continue to play hard, to see and to give examples of other teams," Morris said. "The Washington Nationals are a prime example. You know, May 23rd, they're 12 games below .500. Only eight teams in the history of baseball have ever come back and made the postseason [from that record].

"So we shared that with our team today to say, 'Look how they finished.'"

AD talk

Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek addressed the state of the football team in a post to the university website, while encouraging fans to attend Saturday's football game and Sunday's exhibition basketball game that will include the unveiling of Nolan Richardson Court at Walton Arena.

"Clearly, our win-loss record at this point in the season is not where anyone would like it to be," Yurachek wrote. "A loss is a loss, but I am encouraged that in each of our last three games, all decided by one score or less, that the Razorbacks had a chance in the later stages of each to earn a win. I can assure you that no one is more disappointed that we were unable to do that, than the young men and the coaching staff who have put in countless hours in preparation for this season.

"However, within this program, our focus is on the opportunities that remain ahead. There is plenty of football left to be played this season and our coaches and student-athletes are continuing to prepare day by day for the remaining six regular season games on our schedule."

Win the date

Auburn enters Saturday's game at Arkansas after coming off an open date, which is bad news for the Razorbacks.

Under Coach Gus Malzahn, the Tigers are 8-0 in the regular season when coming off a bye week. Auburn is 7-0 against SEC teams in those games and 3-0 in road games.

Those victories: 30-22 over Ole Miss and 34-28 over Alabama in 2013; 20-14 at Kansas State and 41-7 over LSU in 2014; 30-27 at Kentucky in 2015; 56-3 over Arkansas in 2016; 42-27 at Texas A&M in 2017; 28-24 over Texas A&M in 2018.

One pick

Auburn has one interception on the season, safety Jeremiah Dinson's pick with no return in a 24-6 victory over Tulane in Week 2.

The Tigers are tied for last in the NCAA with Alabama-Birmingham, New Mexico and Tulsa in that department.

"We've been close," Gus Malzahn said Wednesday. "We've had some opportunities. We've got to seize the moment when we get our chances to get the ball. I think the second half of the season that number will grow dramatically."

The Tigers are tied for fifth in the FBS with eight fumbles recovered and tied for 55th with nine turnovers gained. The Razorbacks are tied for 34th with 11 takeaways, on six fumble recoveries and five interceptions.

300 for 300

Auburn kickers have successfully converted their last 300 points after touchdowns and have a chance to break the NCAA record at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday.

The last PAT miss for the Tigers came in a 2013 game vs. Tennessee. The streak of 300 consecutive PATs is an SEC record and the longest-active streak in the FBS.

The NCAA record is 302 in a row made by Florida State from 2012-16, which included all their PATs in a 34-31 victory over Auburn in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game played at the Rose Bowl.

Series history

Auburn leads the all-time series against Arkansas by a 16-11-1 margin. The Tigers lead the series 7-5 in Fayetteville, 8-5-1 in Auburn, Ala., and 1-0 in Memphis. Arkansas leads the series 1-0 in Little Rock.

Auburn's edge was 11-10-1 before the Tigers reeled off victories in five of the last six games under Coach Gus Malzahn.

Arkansas' lone victory in that span was a 54-46 win in four overtimes on Oct. 24, 2015.

Prior to Auburn's recent dominance, the Razorbacks had won in three of four trips to Auburn, a 27-10 upset of the No. 2 Tigers in 2006, a 25-22 victory under first-year Coach Bobby Petrino in 2008, and a 24-7 rout under interim Coach John L. Smith in 2012. The only loss in that span came in a 65-43 shootout to the Cam Newton-led Tigers in 2010, a game in which Tyler Wilson came off the bench to fire four touchdown passes.

Auburn's five victories in the series since 2013 have been by a combined score of 222-64 for an average score of 44-13, including a 56-3 beatdown in 2016 that stands as the Hogs' largest losing margin in a conference game.

24, no more

Auburn is one of 10 FBS teams which has not allowed more than 24 points in any game this season. No. 10 Florida hit that number in a 24-13 victory over the Tigers on Oct. 5, and only Oregon (21), Texas A&M (20) and Mississippi State (23) have exceeded 20 points on the Tigers.

The other teams who have not given up more than 24 points: Alabama-Birmingham, California, Clemson, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, San Diego State and Wisconsin. The Badgers are the only team in the nation that has not trailed at any point this season.

Hog ties

As usual, the ties to Arkansas run deep for the Auburn coaching staff, starting with Coach Gus Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and Arkansas prep coaching legend who was offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks during the SEC West winning campaign of 2006.

Offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, a Clarendon native, played offensive line at Henderson State, coached in the prep ranks at Nashville and Des Arc, then worked at the UA as a graduate assistant (1981-82) and a full-time assistant coach (1989-92).

Co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Kodi Burns is a Fort Smith native who played at Auburn and got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant with Malzahn at Arkansas State in 2012. He followed Malzahn back to Auburn in 2013 as a graduate assistant before moving on to Samford, Middle Tennessee State and Arizona State before re-joining the Tigers in 2016.

Extra points

• The Razorbacks will play their second 11 a.m. game of the season, joining the Hogs' 31-27 loss to Texas A&M on Sept. 28.

• Former Georgia offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb will serve as analyst for the SEC Network crew assigned to the game, with Taylor Zarzour on play-by-play duties and Alyssa Lang as sideline reporter.

Sports on 10/18/2019