It was a tale of two halves for Auburn’s run defense Saturday against Arkansas. The Hogs’ offensive line, the largest in the FBS in terms of weight, started manhandling the Tigers early on. Combine that line with the Hogs three-headed monster at running back — Alex Collins, Jonathan Williams and Korliss Marshall — and Arkansas ran wild on the Tigers defense in the first half. The three combined for an eye-popping 140 yards on 19 carries in the first 30 minutes.

Arkansas’ success on the ground in the first half loosened up the Tiger secondary, too. Surprisingly, quarterback Brandon Allen took to the air a lot more than expected and had some success. Two of the three Razorbacks touchdowns were through the air. Allen put the ball up 31 times, and he completed 18 passes, two of which went for touchdowns.

In the second half Auburn looked like a completely different team. The Tigers held Arkansas’ running backs to seven yards rushing. The trio finished with 147 yards on 25 carries.

“He made the adjustments,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said of Tiger defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. “They settled down and started stopping the run and that changed the whole tone of the game and that was a huge factor in the second half. We got quite a few stops and got the ball back to the offense.”

Here is a closer look at how drastically different the first and second halves were.

ARKANSAS’ THREE-HEAD MONSTER
Alex Collins 10 carries, 68 yards; First half 6-70 /Second half 4-2
Korliss Marshall 8 carries, 45 yards; First half 6-36 /Second half 2-9
Jonathan Williams 7 carries, 34 yards; First half 7-34 /Second half 0-0

ARKANSAS RUNNING BACK RUSHES BY QUARTER

FIRST QUARTER: 9 carries 78 yards

1st possession – Result: Punt
1st play: Williams 2 yards

2nd possession – Result: Touchdown – 6 plays, 75 yards; 5 run plays for 61 yards
1st play: Marshall 7 yards
2nd play: Marshall 13 yards
3rd play: Collins: 20 yards
4th play: Collins: 21 yards
5th play: Marshall 0 yards

3rd possession – Result: Punt
1st play: Marshall 5 yards
4th play: Williams 11 yards
5th play: Williams -1 yard

SECOND QUARTER: 10 carries 62 yards

1st possession – Result: Touchdown – 6 plays, 75 yards; 2 run plays for 1 yard
1st play: Collins  -1 yard
5th play: Williams 2 yards

2nd possession – Result: Touchdown – 10 plays 93 yards; 7 run plays for 60 yards
1st play: Marshall 8 yards
2nd play: Marshall 3 yards
3rd play: Collins 18 yards
4th play: Collins 11 yards
5th play: Williams 3 yards
9th play: Williams 11 yards
10th play: Williams 6 yard touchdown run

3rd possession – Result: Punt
1st play: Collins 1 yard

THIRD QUARTER: 6 carries 7 yards

1st Possession – Result: Punt
no rush attempts in 3 plays

2nd Possession – Result: Punt
1st play: Collins 3 yards
3rd play: Collins 1 yard
5th play: Collins -6 yards

3rd Possession – Result: Interception (returned for Auburn touchdown)
1st play: Marshall 3 yards

4th Possession – Result: Punt
1st play: Collins o yards
4th play: Marshall 6 yards

FOURTH QUARTER: 0 carries 0 yards