Unbeaten Tigers Stopped in Their Tracks
Arkansas 44, Auburn 23
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Sunday, October 11, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Oct. 10 -- Chris Todd flipped a short screen pass to Mario Fannin, and Jerico Nelson of Arkansas was ready. He hit Fannin immediately for a four-yard loss.
The 17th-ranked Tigers -- and their fast-paced, powerful offense -- had been stopped in their tracks.
Michael Smith rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown, and the Razorbacks held off a late Auburn rally to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season, 44-23, on Saturday. Arkansas -- which gave up 52 points on this field less than a month ago -- shut down Auburn for most of the game.
"We weren't going to play soft with these guys," Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.
The Tigers scored three touchdowns during a quick flurry toward the end of the third quarter, but by then the Razorbacks had built a commanding lead.
"They were an undefeated team, getting a lot of hype. They were ranked," Arkansas defensive lineman Jake Bequette said. "Any time a team like that comes into our house, we have to respond."
Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) started the game by holding the Tigers to their first scoreless quarter of the season. The Razorbacks led 6-0 after one, then broke the game open in the second.
Nelson's big hit came in the second quarter. When he tackled Fannin, their face masks appeared to become tangled, and Fannin ended up losing his helmet.
Smith gave Arkansas a 13-0 lead with a 25-yard scoring run. Fannin then fumbled away the kickoff, and Ryan Mallett threw a 16-yard pass to Greg Childs for Arkansas's second touchdown in 47 seconds.
At halftime it was 27-3, a surprising score since Auburn (5-1, 2-1) came in averaging 41 points a game.
"You can't play like we did today and win in the SEC," said Gene Chizik, who lost for the first time as Auburn's coach.
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was a successful high school coach in northwest Arkansas, and he was the Razorbacks' offensive coordinator in 2006. After leaving the Hogs, he spent two years on the Tulsa staff before heading to Auburn.
Malzahn lost to his former school for the second straight year. Last season, his offense at Tulsa scored in every quarter before coming up empty in the fourth period of a November loss in Fayetteville.
