Arkansas (3-6, 0-5 SEC) wasted early opportunities and Tre Mason dominated on the ground as No. 8 Auburn (8-1, 4-1 SEC) put away Arkansas and continued to remain a factor in the SEC West. Mason rushed for 168 yards and four touchdowns as Auburn left Arkansas with a 35-17 victory.
Mason had two touchdowns in the first half to give the Tigers a 14-3 lead while the Razorbacks sputtered inside the red zone and Mason added two more touchdown runs in the second half. Auburn’s Nick Marshall did little in the passing game in the first half but provided one of the big plays of the game with an 88-yard touchdown pass to Sammie Coates midway through the third quarter to extend Auburn’s lead to 28-3.
Arkansas put up nearly 200 yards on the ground against Auburn, with Jonathan Williams rushing for 104 yards and Alex Collins rushing for 84 yards but turnovers doomed the Razorbacks early. Turnovers killed two red zone possessions for Arkansas as the Razorbacks dropped their sixth straight game after starting the year with a 3-0 start. One more loss for Arkansas, with games against Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU remaining, the Razorbacks will be ineligible for postseason play for the second straight year.
On the other hand, Auburn is rolling and could very well be heading in to The Iron Bowl as Alabama’s biggest threat to a BCS championship run. Auburn must still get by a road game at Tennessee next week and a home game against Georgia first. Auburn then hosts Alabama on November 30.