Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Auburn Tigers: Complete Game Preview

When the 2012 college football schedule came out, Auburn vs. Arkansas in Week 6 was supposed to be a matchup between two teams trying to grab a hold of 3rd place in the SEC West. 

Instead, Week 6 features two teams that have two wins between them. Auburn is last in the conference in most offensive categories. Likewise, Arkansas is last in the conference in most defensive categories.

Something will have to give as the Tigers and Razorbacks renew their annual matchup on Saturday at 11:00 am CST on ESPN2.

All you need to know about this week's matchup can be found right here...

Gameday Information

Who: Arkansas vs Auburn

When: Saturday, 11:00am (CST)

Where: Auburn, AL

Stadium: Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Auburn IMG Network (List of affiliates can be found here)

Internet stream: www.watchespn.com or Auburntigers.com (Radio only. Subscription required)

Series history: Auburn leads, 11-9-1. At Auburn, Auburn leads 5-3-1

Depth Chart for Auburn

Position	Number	Name	Height	Weight	Class
Offense
QB	10	Kiehl Frazier	6’2”	226	So
	15	Clint Moseley	6’4”	229	Jr
OR	12	Jonathan Wallace	6’2”	197	Fr
RB	23	Onterio McCalebb	5’11”	173	Sr
	21	Tre Mason	5’10”	198	So
OR	22	Mike Blakely	5’9”	206	Fr-Rs
FB	35	Jay Prosch	6’0”	260	Jr
	48	Blake Burgess	6’3”	249	Jr
WR	80	Emory Blake	6’2”	193	Sr
	18	Sammie Coates	6’2”	200	So
	5	Ricardo Louis	6’2”	210	Fr
WR	85	Travante Stallworth	5’9”	199	Sr
	89	Jaylon Denson	6’3”	211	So
WR	1	Trovon Reed	6’0”	190	So
	8	Anthony Morgan	5’11”	197	Sr
TE	43	Phillip Lutzenkirchen	6’5”	255	Sr
	11	Brandon Fulse	6’4”	249	So
OR	81	C.J. Uzomah	6’4”	250	So
LT	73	Greg Robinson	6’5”	311	Fr-Rs
	72	Shon Coleman	6’6”	302	Fr-Rs
LG	71	John Sullen	6’5”	313	Sr
	63	Alex Kozan	6’4”	294	Fr
C	51	Reese Dismukes	6’3”	293	So
	65	Tunde Faryike	6’2”	301	So
RG	62	Chad Slade	6’5”	301	So
	75	Christian Westerman	6’4”	298	Fr-Rs
RT	51	Patrick Miller	6’7”	288	Fr
	56	Avery Young	6’6”	295	Fr
Defense
DE	95	Dee Ford	6’2”	246	Jr
	13	Craig Sanders	6’4”	257	Jr
OR	94	Nosa Eguae	6’3”	268	Jr
DT	98	Angelo Blackson	6’4”	308	So
	92	Kenneth Carter	6’4”	289	Jr
	96	Devaunte  Sigler	6’4”	291	So
DT	54	Jeffrey Whitaker	6’4”	307	Jr
	90	Gabe Wright	6’3”	299	So
DE	55	Corey Lemonier	6’4”	246	Jr
	10	Ladarius Owens	6’2”	260	So
SLB	35	Jonathan Evans	5’11”	231	Sr
	26	Justin Garrett	6’1”	215	So
MLB	5	Jake Holland	6’1”	241	Jr
	56	Ashton Richardson	6’1”	218	So
WLB	25	Daren Bates	5’11”	215	Sr
	17	Kris Frost	6’2”	233	Fr-Rs
CB	6	Jonathan Mincy	5’10”	190	So
	15	Joshua Holsey	5’11”	188	Fr
FS	12	Demetruce McNeal	6’2”	187	Jr
	31	Trent Fisher	6’1”	200	So
SS	9	Jermaine Whitehead	5’11”	202	So
	24	Ryan Smith	6’2”	204	Jr
CB	22	Chris Davis	5’11”	200	Jr
	22	T’Sharvan Bell	6’0”	190	Sr
Special Teams
PK	36	Cody Parkey	6’0”	194	Jr
	39	Alex Kviklys	6’2”	180	Fr-Rs
P	30	Steven Clark	6’5”	232	Jr
	37	J.D. Strawbridge	6’0”	171	Fr
H	19	Ryan White	5’11”	198	Jr
	30	Steven Clark	6’5”	232	Jr
DS	59	Jake Lembke	6’2”	245	Jr
	64	Forrest Hill	6’1”	242	So
KR	23	Onterio McCalebb	5’11”	173	Sr
	21	Tre Mason	5’10”	198	So
PR	1	Trovon Reed	6’0”	190	So
OR	80	Emory Blake	6’2”	193	Sr
OR	5	Ricardo Louis	6’2”	210	Fr

Depth Chart for Arkansas

Position	Number	Name	Height	Weight	Class
Offense
WR	17	Brandon Mitchell	6’4”	230	Jr
	2	Julian Horton	6’1”	194	Jr
	4	Keon Hatcher	6’2”	205	Fr
WR	11	Cobi Hamilton	6’3”	209	Sr
	19	Javontee Herndon	6’1”	204	Jr
WR	82	Mekale McKay	6’6”	190	Fr
	81	Demetrius Wilson	6’3”	180	Jr
	15	Keante Minor	6’0”	205	So
TE	80	Chris Gragg	6’3”	236	Sr
	87	Austin Tate	6’6”	253	Jr
	46	Alex Voelzke	6’6”	220	RFr
OT	69	David Hurd	6’6”	300	Jr
	70	Chris Stringer	6’7”	304	So
OG	76	Tyler Deacon	6’4”	300	Sr
	75	Luke Charpentier	6’4”	305	So
C	64	Travis Swanson	6’5”	305	Jr
	65	Mitch Smothers	6’4”	296	So
OG	67	Alvin Bailey	6’5”	312	Jr
	75	Luke Charpentier	6’4”	305	So
OT	74	Brey Cook	6’7”	308	So
	71	Jason Peacock	6’4”	305	Sr
QB	8	Tyler Wilson	6’3”	220	Sr
	10	Brandon Allen	6’3”	212	RFr
RB	7	Knile Davis	6’0”	226	Jr
	33	Dennis Johnson	5’9”	213	Sr
OR	20	Ronnie Wingo, Jr	6’3”	231	Sr
FB	35	Morgan Linton	5’11”	240	So
	49	Grady Ollison	6’5”	286	RFr
	87	Austin Tate	6’6”	253	Jr
Defense
DE	86	Trey Flowers	6’4”	243	So
	41	Austin Flynn	6’5”	260	Jr
DT	54	Byran Jones	6’2”	312	Jr
	51	Alfred Davis	6’1”	318	Sr
	57	Jared Green	6’0”	315	Sr
DT	92	Dequinta Jones	6’5”	299	Sr
	98	Robert Thomas	6’3”	308	Jr
DE	42	Chris Smith	6’3”	251	Jr
	90	Colton Miles-Nash	6’6”	261	Sr
OLB	39	Jarret Lake	6’3”	223	Jr
	24	Daunte Carr	6’3”	224	So
MLB	45	Alonzo Highsmith	6’1”	233	Sr
	43	Tenarius Wright	6’2”	252	Sr
OLB	25	Terrell Williams	6’3”	232	Sr
	45	Alonzo Highsmith	6’1”	233	Sr
CB	23	Kaelon Kelleybrew	5’11	180	Sr
	13	Davyon McKinney	6’3”	190	RFr
S	35	Ross Rasner	6’0”	212	Sr
	27	Alan Turner	6’0”	212	So
S	14	Eric Bennett	6’0”	206	Jr
	26	Rohan Gaines	5’11”	190	RFr
CB	9	Will Hines	6’1”	185	Fr
	21	Darius Winston	6’0”	191	Sr
Special Teams
K	18	Zach Hocker	6’0”	180	Jr
	43	John Henson	5’11”	138	So
P	14	Dylan Breeding	6’1”	211	Sr
	18	Zach Hocker	6’0”	180	Jr
SNP	53	Alan D’Appollonio	6’0”	201	So
	56	Will Coleman	6’3”	253	Jr
H	16	Brian Buehner	5’11	195	So
	14	Dylan Breeding	6’1”	211	Sr
KOR	33	Dennis Johnson	5’9”	213	Sr
	22	Nate Holmes	6’1”	175	Fr
	20	Ronnie Wingo, Jr	6’3”	231	Sr
PR	22	Nate Holmes	6’1”	175	Fr
	15	Keante Minor	6’0”	205	So

What Happened to the Tigers Last Week

Auburn had its only off-week of the season last Saturday. The last time the Tigers took the field, two weeks ago, they fell to LSU 12-10.

Auburn played their most complete game of the season against LSU in Week 4. If not for a punt-return drop in the second half, Auburn could have pulled off a big upset of the second-ranked Bayou Bengals.

The Auburn defense held LSU to one offensive touchdown and their lowest offensive output (351 yards) of the season. 

The defensive line also forced two turnovers, both by LSU QB Zach Mettenberger. 

Auburn went into halftime with a 10-9 lead but could not muster any offense in the second half. After a missed LSU field goal with less than a minute left, Auburn could not drive down the field to get into scoring position for a Cody Parkey field goal attempt. 

Tre Mason led Auburn in rushing with 54 yards on nine carries. Auburn QB Kiehl Frazier went 13-for-22 with two interceptions. He threw for 97 yards. 

What Happened to the Razorbacks Last Week

Texas A&M racked up 716 yards of offense against Arkansas and beat the Razorbacks 58-10 at College Station last week. 

Freshman Johnny Manziel threw for 453 yards and ran for 104 against the Arkansas defense. 

Arkansas racked up 515 yards of offense themselves, but could not get more than one touchdown because of three turnovers. 

Arkansas took a 10-7 lead with just over 30 seconds left in the first quarter. After that, the Aggies scored 51 unanswered points. 

Tyler Wilson threw for 373 yards and two interceptions in the loss. Running back Knile Davis led Arkansas in rushing with 65 yards. 

What It Means to Both Teams

The Arkansas football program has been in a tailspin since the Sunday morning in early April that Bobby Petrino had a motorcycle accident with a surprising passenger holding onto him. 

Many Arkansas fans have already closed the book on the 2012 season and just want to be woken up when a new coach is hired to lead their football program. 

Arkansas will take any sort of positive momentum to stop the bleeding, and a win over Auburn will do just that. A loss to Auburn will continue the downward spiral of what was the eighth-ranked football team in the country at the start of the season. If the loss to Auburn is ugly, we may see the rare title "interim-interim head coach" for Arkansas by season's end. 

For Auburn, a win will get the month of October off to a much better start than September. For the Tigers to have a realistic shot at achieving bowl eligibility, they need to get at least three wins in four October games. 

Even with a loss to LSU, the Tigers picked up some momentum, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Another solid performance (along with a win) could do wonders for this still somewhat fragile team. 

It won't be pretty on the Plains if Auburn find a way to lose to a team that lost to ULM (who Auburn barely beat), got crushed by Alabama, got beat by Rutgers and got pounded by Texas A&M. Especially when Auburn has had two weeks to prepare. 

If so, the little bit of momentum that was gained in the loss to LSU will go right down the drain and we can start to use words like "disaster" to describe the 2012 season. 

Key Player for Auburn

Auburn DE Corey Lemonier needs to get to know Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson very well this Saturday. The Junior from Hialeah, FL has been a man on a mission this fall, and Auburn will need him to continue his production so that Wilson does not get into a rhythm throwing the ball against Auburn. 

Tyler Wilson has had his way with the Auburn secondary these past three years, and the more pressure that Lemonier and the defensive line can put on Wilson, the easier it will be for the Auburn secondary. 

Lemonier moved into the Top 10 in Auburn history in sacks against LSU. He now has 16.5 sacks in his career. He is currently 13th in the country, averaging 1.25 per game. He has two multiple-sack games this season.

Key Player for Arkansas

As expected, Cobi Hamilton has been a bright spot for Arkansas in a season that has not had a lot of sunshine. 

Against Rutgers, Hamilton set an SEC-record for most receiving yards in a game with 303 yards and scored three touchdowns.

His play in Week 4 earned him SEC co-offensive Player of the Week honors. He backed that up last week with 165 receiving yards against Texas A&M. 

"

DB Joshua Holsey on WR Cobi Hamilton: "We're still focused on everybody. You just have to know where he is, especially on important downs."

— Aaron Brenner (@wareagleextra) October 2, 2012"

Auburn Will Win If....

Auburn will win this ball game if they win the turnover battle. Both Arkansas and Auburn are at the bottom of the national rankings in turnover margin. Arkansas has gained two turnovers and lost 15. Auburn has gained four and lost 12.

If Auburn can limit the costly turnovers it they've had in each game this year, they will have no problem winning this game on Saturday. 

Giving Arkansas momentum and confidence by keeping them in the game with turnovers could result in an ugly loss for the Tigers. 

Arkansas Will Win If...

Arkansas will beat Auburn if they have success on third down conversions. Arkansas' four losses have a similar trend. The Razorbacks have not converted more than 33 percent of their third-down chances in any of those games. 

Against ULM, Alabama, Rutgers and Texas A&M, Arkansas converted 27, 21,18 and 33 percent of its third downs, respectively. 

If Arkansas completes 40 percent or more of its third-down conversions, they beat Auburn for the third time in four tries against Gene Chizik. 

Prediction

The Arkansas defense will be the perfect remedy for Auburn's offensive woes. Kiehl Frazier and the Auburn offense will have their best game of the year in both rushing and passing. 

Auburn will be able to loosen up the Arkansas defense that will be focused on stopping the run by getting Kiehl Frazier comfortable early against the worst pass defense in the conference. 

The Auburn offense should be aggressive early, to jump on an Arkansas team that appeared to give up last week on the road at Texas A&M. If things do not go the Razorbacks' way early on in the game, it will be a long Saturday for the Hogs on the Plains.

Defensively, we will see a team much more like the one we saw against LSU than the one we saw the first three games. Consistent pressure from the Auburn defensive line will be enough to get Tyler Wilson uncomfortable. The pressure will make him force throws that will result in turnovers. 

Auburn gets its first SEC win against Arkansas this Saturday in Jordan-Hare, 31-13.