Auburn at Arkansas Line

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday the No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks will host the No. 23 Auburn Tigers in a big time SEC West showdown. The Razorbacks trailed Texas A&M 17-35 at half, but roared back with a 25-3 second half to win 42-38. The win pushed Arkansas to 4-1 overall with the only loss coming against Alabama. The Tigers are also coming off a come from behind win, as they scored the go ahead touchdown with less than two minutes to play to beat then No. 10 South Carolina 16-13. Auburn also improved to 4-1 overall with their only loss coming against undefeated Clemson. Auburn beat Arkansas 65-43 in one of the more entertaining SEC games of last year.

Looking at the week 6 college football spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Razorbacks favored by 10-points over the Tigers with the total set at 63 points.

Auburn Tigers:

A lot of people thought the Tigers would have to put up a lot of points to beat the Gamecocks on the road, but instead it was the defense that kept them in the game until the offense was finally able to come through with a big play. Auburn scored nine points in the first half , but hadn’t scored at all in the second half before Barrett Trotter hit Philip Lutzenkirchen on a yard scoring strike.

Trotter made up for a poor day throwing the ball, as he was just 11 of 22 for 103 yards with two interceptions leading up to that touchdown toss. Trotter has now thrown at least one interception in four straight games.

The Tigers had to feel like they should have came away with more points than what they did. Auburn had 246 yards on the ground for game, led by Michael Dyer’s 141 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers success this season has came as a result of the running game, and they should be able to move the ball with Dyer and company against the Razorbacks defense that is allowing 168.2 yards per game on the ground.

The thing I will be looking at is how the Auburn defense comes back after really dominating the South Carolina offense. Auburn had been one of the worst teams in the country against the run coming into their game against the Gamecocks, and were going up against star running back Marcus Lattimore who had 611 yards in his first four games. They held Lattimore to just 66 yards on 17 attempts.

Arkansas Razorbacks:

The Razorbacks are going to come into this game with all the confidence in the world after pulling off one of the best come-from-behind wins of the season. Arkansas gave up five rushing touchdowns in the first half, but were able to make the halftime adjustments needed to allow just a field goal in the second half.

Arkansas got another big from junior quarterback Tyler Wilson, who had a career-high 510 yards with three touchdowns on 30 of 51 passing. That incredible performance gives Wilson 1,517 yards with 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions. While most of Auburn’s struggles have came against the run, they are allowing 232.8 passing yards a game this season.

Five different players have caught at least 14 passes, but the three players you have to keep an eye on in the passing game are Jarius Wright, Cobi Hamilton, and Joe Adams. Wright leads the team with 28 catches for 478 yards and five scores.

It was a good thing the Razorbacks had the passing game working against Texas A&M, as they had just 71 yards on the ground. Arkansas has won all season without really having a lot of success running the ball. Ronnie Wingo Jr leads the team with 284 yards.

Betting Trends:

Auburn is 7-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

Arkansas is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win in week 6 of college football.

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