FAYETTEVILLE -- The Gus Bus appears to have accelerated back into the fast lane at Auburn after a couple of early stumbles.
Gus Malzahn, the Fort Smi
th native in his fourth season as Auburn's coach, has his Tigers on the upswing and back in the national rankings with three consecutive victories, including a 38-14 road rout of Mississippi State in their most recent game Oct. 6.
The No. 21 Tigers (4-2, 2-1 SEC) should be refreshed after an open date as they prepare to host No. 17 Arkansas (5-2, 1-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
"We're getting better. Our team knows it. Our coaches know it," Malzahn said after the Tigers' dominating victory at Mississippi State.
"Very few teams in college football actually get better throughout the year, and we have a chance to be one of those teams."
A month ago, things weren't near as rosy in Auburn, Ala.
The Tigers had five consecutive home games to open the season and did not capitalize.
A 19-13 loss to No. 2 Clemson in the season opener, followed by a 29-16 loss to No. 17 Texas A&M two weeks later was not the hot start Malzahn envisioned.
Malzahn entered the year on the proverbial "hot seat" after a 7-6 finish, including a 2-6 mark in SEC play, in 2015. It was his second consecutive season with fewer victories after Malzahn led the Tigers to the SEC title and the brink of the national championship with a 12-2 record in his debut season in 2013.
Auburn's fortunes changed when an LSU touchdown on the final play of the game was reversed in the replay booth, allowing Auburn to escape with an 18-13 victory. Auburn followed with a 58-7 trampling of Louisiana-Monroe and the rough treatment at Mississippi State to enter the Associated Press poll for the first time since Sept. 18, 2015.
"They're a very talented football team," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "They've got players all over the place. Their defense is playing at a high level, and really, really taking advantage of some really good players and putting them in great positions."
First-year Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who was at LSU in 2015, inherited a unit led by defensive linemen Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams, and has put up a string of impressive performances.
Texas A&M is the only team to score more than 19 points on the Tigers, who rank 11th in the nation in scoring defense (16.0 points per game) and 30th in total defense (346.8 yards per game).
"The first thing you notice is their size," Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. "I think they're very well coached on the back end. I think they're very disciplined back there. Eyes are good, in the right spots, play physical.
"It's going to be a tough test. They've played very well against some good offenses."
The Tigers have not allowed a 300-yard passer this season, despite facing Clemson's Deshaun Watson and Texas A&M's Trevor Knight.
Lawson is second in the SEC with six sacks. Defensive backs Jonathan Ford and Tray Matthews and linebacker Tre' Williams are the team leaders in tackles.
The largely Arkansas-native offensive brain trust at Auburn -- with offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and running backs coach Tim Horton also from Arkansas -- has evolved during the course of the season.
The three-quarterback carousel of Sean White, Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin III from the season opener has been trimmed to White as the starter and small doses of the dual-threat Franklin.
White leads the SEC with a 69.7 completion percentage and he ranks third in passing efficiency behind Ole Miss' Chad Kelly and Arkansas' Austin Allen.
Malzahn handed over the play-calling duties to Lashlee for the LSU game. The Tigers put up 388 yards against LSU, then posted one of the top four total offense games at Auburn with 688 yards against Louisiana-Monroe.
The emergence of the tailback tandem of Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway, running behind a veteran offensive line, has brought an extra potency to the offense. The Tigers rank second in the SEC in rushing with 263 yards per game and fifth in total offense with 479 yards per game.
"It's a lot of fun to go out there and play when the offense is working and clicking and the plays are working," White said.
Johnson has 538 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns and averages 5.1 yards per carry. He's questionable for the Arkansas game after spraining an ankle two weeks ago. Pettway, who had 169 yards and 3 touchdowns on 39 carries against Mississippi State, has 505 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns and averages 5.5 yards per carry for the season. Franklin is averaging 11.4 yards per carry on 19 attempts.
"They're going to play some running backs now," Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "They can hit you with a change of pace. They can hit you with a bigger guy and faster guys. All of them are tough runners.
"They do a lot of things to try to draw your eyes away with motion in terms of keys and reads. We have to be good not only knowing what running back is in the game, but where he's aligned and that type of thing."
Sports on 10/18/2016