Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2009

Hogs hope to hand Tigers first loss

SEC foes collide in Fayetteville this weekend as the Arkansas Razorbacks host the 17th-ranked Auburn Tigers, new additions to the AP Top-25.

The Gene Chizik era is off to a tremendous start, as his Auburn team is a perfect 5-0 to date. Last weekend, the Tigers moved to 2-0 in SEC action with a 26-22 triumph over Tennessee on the road. Prior to that 26-point showing, Auburn had posted at least 37 points in every other outing.

As for Arkansas, it carries a modest 2-2 record into this weekend's contest and is still in search of its first conference victory. The Razorbacks did manage to halt a two-game overall skid last weekend with a 47-19 thrashing of a previously unbeaten Texas A&M team. Still, coach Bobby Petrino knows that his Arkansas club must knock off Auburn to remain relevant in the nation's top league.

Auburn holds a 10-7-1 advantage in the all-time series with Arkansas, but the Razorbacks posted a 25-22 victory in the most recent meeting last season.

Auburn has recorded five straight games of 400 or more yards of offense for the first time since the 1994 season. The club boasts two of the top five rushers in the SEC in Ben Tate (108.0 ypg) and Onterio McCalebb (83.2 ypg). The vaunted ground attack accounts for 253.8 ypg and 5.4 yards per attempt, but a potent passing attack is also worthy of mention. Quarterback Chris Todd is a major reason that the Tigers are scoring 41.4 ppg, as he has completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,230 yards with 12 touchdowns and only one interception. Darvin Adams is the man to watch on the outside, as he has made 22 grabs for 363 yards and five scores.

Coach Chizik previously served as the defensive coordinator at Auburn, and he would obviously like to see some improvement defensively for the Tigers. Sure, the team's 344.2 total ypg allowed is not a horrendous figure, but foes are scoring 23.8 ppg against Auburn, and that number could undoubtedly stand some improvement. With 13 takeaways in five outings, the Tigers have made their share of big plays. Craig Stevens and Josh Bynes are currently tied for the team lead with 43 total tackles apiece, and eight different players have registered an interception for the club.

In the victory over Tennessee last time out, Auburn achieved tremendous offensive balance once again, as it posted 224 rushing yards and 235 passing yards. Tate ran for 128 yards and a touchdown, and Todd played interception- free football. Defensively, the Tigers did yield 410 total yards, including 5.2 yards per rushing attempt and 12.9 yards per pass completion. The win was a bit too close for comfort, but it is hard to complain about a road victory over an SEC team.

"There are not going to be any easy ones in the SEC," said coach Chizik. "All of our SEC games are going to be tough. We have to be well-prepared and be prepared to win them in different ways."

Arkansas rolled up 434 total yards last weekend and five offensive touchdowns to defeat Texas A&M. Quarterback Ryan Mallett completed 17-of-27 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns against only one interception. Many players made solid contributions offensively as both runners and receivers, preventing the Aggies from keying on any one or two performers.

While the Arkansas defense yielded 28 first downs and 458 total yards to A&M, only two touchdowns were allowed, and limiting a Big 12 opponent to 19 points on the road has to be viewed as an accomplishment. Tenarius Wright forced a pair of fumbles for the victors.

"We got down 10-0, but I liked the way we responded, mostly the look in their eyes on the sideline and the competitiveness," said coach Petrino after the tilt. "There wasn't one person that didn't think that we couldn't come back and win."

Petrino was particularly proud of Mallett, who responded well from a poor showing against Alabama in the previous tilt.

"He's a tremendous competitor, and it hurts when you lose a game and you feel like you don't perform well," said the coach. "I was very proud of the way he reacted to that loss in practice all week long. That showed up tonight in the game."

Arkansas is averaging 35.8 ppg this season, and it has been Mallett and the passing game that has been largely responsible for moving the ball and scoring points. He has 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions to go along with 1,148 passing yards. The ground attack has posted a mere three touchdowns and 111.8 ypg, so there is obviously room for improvement in that aspect of the game.

Defensively, Arkansas is permitting 29.0 ppg and there is some room for improvement on that side of the ball. Sure, the club has been strong against the run, permitting only 3.3 yards per carry and 121.0 total ypg. But the pass defense has been weak, giving up 283.5 ypg, 14.5 yards per reception and 10 touchdowns against only three interceptions. Wendel Davis leads the defense with 30 total tackles, 3.5 of which have come behind the line of scrimmage.