AUBURN, Ala. -- The University of Arkansas, feeling spiffy after shaking off the burden of a 20-game SEC losing streak last week, jumps right back onto the hot and potentially wet griddle today.
The Razorbacks (1-1) face their third consecutive ranked SEC opponent in today's 3 p.m. Central game at No. 13 Auburn.
The Tigers (1-1) are a 14-point favorite for the game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which has a chance of featuring wet and windy conditions due to the projected remnants of Hurricane Delta.
Both teams have practiced wet-ball security throughout the week and anticipate having to jump-start sluggish running attacks that have not produced a 100-yard game between them.
First-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said the congratulatory pats on the back for breaking the program's lengthy losing streak stopped Monday with the advent of Auburn preparation.
"We've probably even been a little bit harder on them this week than maybe what we were the last two weeks," Pittman said. "The expectations are the same, but we've probably been a little bit harder on strain, finish, transition. Just a lot of expectations probably have been amped up a little bit."
The Razorbacks think an upset of Auburn would go a long way toward re-establishing a presence in the SEC West.
"Just to change the narrative of this program," offensive lineman Myron Cunningham said. "If we want to keep winning, we have to work to strain every day and fight every day at practice in order to change that narrative of a losing team. I think we can do that."
Both teams have injury issues of key players, and Auburn has the added onus of a slow start under offensive coordinator Chad Morris, the former Arkansas coach, coupled with higher expectations. The Tigers rushed for 39 yards in last week's 27-6 loss at Georgia, prompting Coach Gus Malzahn to say the Bulldogs forced them into being one-dimensional.
"We're not gonna fold," Auburn center Nick Brahms said. "That's the big thing. I think a lot of people who would've been in our situation would have folded.
"We're gonna fight for Auburn, fight for this program, for our coaches and each other. We're not going to let Georgia beat us twice."
Malzahn, the former Arkansas offensive coordinator and high school coaching legend in the state, is 6-1 against the Razorbacks as a head coach. Since falling in a four-overtime game 54-46 in Fayetteville in 2015, Malzahn's Tigers have outscored Arkansas 193-36, an average of 48-9, during a four-game winning streak. Auburn has opened its bag of trick plays and easily gotten its fast playmakers into space against the Razorbacks.
New Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom and his staff opened eyes in college football Saturday by tamping down Mississippi State's "Air Raid" offense in a 21-14 road victory.
"Very impressive when you watch them on the field defensively," Malzahn said. "Their defensive coordinator, Barry Odom, is one of the best there is and what he did against that offense that set SEC all-time records the week before, he deserves two SEC coach of the week awards."
If the history of the Arkansas-Auburn series teaches anything, it's that the Razorbacks have not been intimidated on the road by powerful, ranked Auburn teams.
The Razorbacks are 5-8-1 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a stretch of three victories in four games between 2006-12, when Auburn was frequently well regarded and ranked under coaches Tommy Tuberville and Gene Chizik.
The current Razorbacks have found their footing behind Odom's schemes, and better effort at rallying to the ball and tackling. The defense has held up through two games while quarterback Feleipe Franks and the offense have tried to find consistency.
Tailback Rakeem Boyd and top receiver Treylon Burks were injured in the first half of last week's upset at Mississippi State and are questionable today. Burks and cornerback Montaric Brown could be game-time decisions, while Boyd began jogging Thursday but might need to rest his right ankle another week. Defensive end Dorian Gerald is also doubtful for a second consecutive week with an ankle injury.
The offensive comparisons between the teams are remarkable, starting with their lack of possession time. Arkansas has held the ball the least in the SEC at 23:57 per game to rank 71st nationally, while the Tigers are 13th in the SEC at 24:43 and 70th in the country.
Auburn is 11th in SEC scoring at 17.5 points per game and Arkansas is 12th (15.5). Arkansas is also 12th in total offense with 277.5 yards per game, while Auburn is 13th (270.0).
The Razorbacks' passing attack behind Franks is 11th in the league with 207.5 yards per game, while the Tigers with sophomore Bo Nix at the controls is 12th with 205.0 passing yards per game. Arkansas has 32 first downs to rank 13th in the conference, while Auburn is 14th with 31.
The belief system installed by Pittman and his coaching staff would seemingly give Arkansas a shot at the upset on the Plains, like many teams before them.
In 1998, first-year coach Houston Nutt and the No. 14 Razorbacks racked up a 24-21 win at Auburn, the first road victory in the series in four tries.
"You have such respect going into a game against Auburn, and being a first-time SEC head coach like I was in '98, you have these thoughts of Alabama and Bear Bryant and Auburn and Bo Jackson," Nutt said. "You're not playing against Bo Jackson, obviously, but you have such respect for the SEC programs, especially one like Auburn. When you play Auburn, you look down their stretch lines and you see how athletic they are and how they fill out those uniforms, it's so impressive."
After a 21-19 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2000, the Razorbacks were back in the victorious visitors locker room again in 2002 with a convincing 38-17 stomping of the No. 24 Tigers, their largest winning margin on the road in the series.
In that game, Fred Talley was at tailback in place of the injured Cedric Cobbs and produced 241 of the Razorbacks' 426 rushing yards, including an 80-yard score just before halftime. Talley totaled the most individual rushing yards ever allowed by an Auburn defense.
The most shocking Arkansas triumph in the series came when the unranked Razorbacks dominated No. 2 Auburn 27-10 on Oct. 7, 2006, dealing a tough blow to Tuberville
"We always had extra motivation going against Tommy Tuberville," Nutt said. "That first time in 1998 when he was still at Ole Miss, it was big to beat him. And then when he went to Auburn beating him was really big, too. We always wanted to beat him, because he's from Arkansas. And he's a good guy."
The odds were heavily against the Razorbacks. They took an 11-game losing streak against ranked teams into the game, while Auburn had gone 20-1 in its previous 21 games against SEC competition.
The Razorbacks shredded Auburn on the ground, with Darren McFadden (145) and Felix Jones (105) combining for most of the 279 rushing yards. McFadden had a 63-yard touchdown run, the first allowed by the Auburn defense in 2006, and freshman quarterback Mitch Mustain hooked up with Marcus Monk on a 50-yard touchdown strike.
"We wore them out and broke their will," Arkansas guard Stephen Parker said that day. "There's no better feeling, especially on the road. Here in their stadium, to hear our fans louder than their fans in the second half was amazing."
Arkansas shut out Auburn in the second half.
"Today we got beat by a good football team," Tuberville said after the game. "We got beat to the punch, outcoached. We got beat by our brand of football."
The Razorbacks would go on to win the SEC West with Malzahn as their offensive coordinator, sparked by the dominant performance in Auburn.
"I remember that Darren and Felix just ran all over them," Nutt said. "Our defense played a great game. We dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That was a lot of fun. That's when we really knew were a contender to win the West."
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff writer Bob Holt contributed to this article.
At a glance
RECORDS Arkansas 1-1; Auburn 1-1
LINE Auburn by 14
COACHES Sam Pittman (1-1 in first season at Arkansas and overall); Gus Malzahn (63-32 in eighth season at Auburn, 72-35 in ninth season overall)
SERIES Auburn leads 17-11-1.
TV ESPN
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff writer Bob Holt contributed to this article.