FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' streak of facing premier dual-threat quarterbacks will end Saturday at No. 21 Auburn, but it doesn't mean quarterback Sean White and the Tigers offer a breather.
The No. 17 Razorbacks have struggled much of the season to contain running quarterbacks, and they've also shown flaws against high-tempo teams.
White has the ability to conduct the Auburn offense constructed by Coach Gus Malzahn and called by offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee at a breakneck speed.
"I would say Gus, they go as fast as humanly possible," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "Gus has been doing this forever.
"Tempo is his baby. It's his DNA. We have to be ready to go as fast as humanly possible on defense, and obviously at times on Saturday we showed vulnerability to that, so that'll be a huge point of emphasis for us this week."
Malzahn handed the play-calling duties over to Lashlee after the team's 1-2 start, and the Tigers have piled up an average of 503 yards per game in victories over LSU, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State.
White, a 6-foot sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., leads the SEC with 69 percent completions and with a quarterback efficiency rating of 157.2, which is a reflection of his low interception total (2) and his SEC-best 9.0 yards per pass.
"He is definitely the guy that makes them go," Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "He is very, very efficient, and he's a good decision-maker."
Auburn has been at its best with Malzahn's offense when its running game is cranked up, and that's what the Tigers have excelled at this season. They rank No. 12 in the FBS in rushing with 263 yards per game, and No. 28 in total offense with 479 yards per game.
"They throw a different wrinkle in there," Arkansas defensive tackle Taiwan Johnson said. "They like to up tempo with the run game. So we just preach being physical the whole four quarters and maintaining that throughout the game."
Lead tailback Kerryon Johnson is questionable for the Tigers with an ankle injury he suffered early in Auburn's 38-14 victory at Mississippi State two weeks ago. Johnson leads the Tigers with 538 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
But 240-pound Kamryn Pettway, who has 505 rushing yards, is the team leader with 101 rushing yards per game.
"Their backs run really hard, and they have a good offensive line up front," said Arkansas linebacker Dwayne Eugene, who will get his second start of the season Saturday.
Malzahn played three quarterbacks -- White, Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin -- in Auburn's 19-13 home loss to Clemson to open the season. The result was 262 total yards and 15 of 30 passing for 175 yards with 2 interceptions, one each by White and Johnson.
White has pretty much taken over since then, with occasional appearances by Franklin, a superb running quarterback.
"I've obviously heard Gus talk that [White] is the key to the change," Bielema said. "They've settled in on him, and they still bring the other guys in to do certain things, but he's very even-keeled. You see he has great demeanor. He leads the SEC in completion percentage, and that doesn't happen by chance."
Malzahn and Lashlee point to last season's four-overtime loss at Arkansas as the turning point in White's emergence.
In what was White's fourth start, the freshman completed 19 of 32 passes for 254 yards and no interceptions.
After Arkansas had taken a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter, White came on with no timeouts and 57 seconds left on the clock at his own 26.
White completed three passes for 60 yards, overcoming a holding penalty and winning a booth review of what was called a fumble on the field. He drove the Tigers to a game-tying field goal with four seconds left.
"That was kind of, I think, when he grew up in pressure situations," Lashlee said of White. "That's when you knew the moment's not going to be too big for us."
Malzahn said the Tigers still were learning how White handled pressure and being hit.
"He showed a lot of toughness in that game, and I think he responded very well," Malzahn said. "He's a year older now, been through a lot more situations, and he's in a really good spot right now."
While White might be more content to operate from the pocket, he also has read-option plays and solid weapons at his disposal.
"Make no mistake about it, on every run play the quarterback keeping the ball is an option for this team," Arkansas defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads said. "You can see them looking for opportunities to run the quarterback.
"So much of their pass offense on early downs comes off the play-action off of all those plays. Eye discipline is going to be really key for us to be successful. [White's] a good player. He can throw it. He can run it."
You can tell they have confidence in him. And I think you can see what the football team's become since he became the primary guy."
Sports on 10/20/2016