It would be a massive understatement to say Saturday was not a good day for the Arkansas defense. Following up the Razorbacks best defensive performance of the season last week against Ole Miss, the Arkansas defense never showed up in the 56-3 loss at Auburn.
Auburn freshman Eli Stove housed the first offensive play of the game for a 78-yard touchdown and the Tiger offense never seemed to let up from that point.
When the game clock mercifully hit zero, Arkansas had been outgained on the ground by a whopping 543 to 25 margin. The 543 yards are the most surrendered by the team in school history. Also of note, the 543 yards gained by Auburn on the ground represent the most rushing yards achieved by one team in a regular season SEC contest in conference history!
In the last 16 seasons, Arkansas’ previous high for rushing yards surrendered were the 361 yards given up to Texas A&M in 2011.
Without a doubt, after appearing to resolve many of the team’s defensive issues, coordinator Robb Smith is going to face some tough questions this week following his units ghastly performance against the Tigers.
Saturday’s loss was also the worst loss of the Bret Bielema era and the school’s worst loss since 2005:
Tonight is Arkansas’ worst loss since a 70-17 defeat at USC in 2005. Worst in the Bret Bielema era, topping 52, 45-point defeats in 2013.
— Jimmy Carter (@NWAJimmy) October 23, 2016
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
