Auburn hosts Arkansas with another scheduled early game, hoping to finish the season as strong as they started it.
But coming off two horrible back-to-back losses makes Auburn have to turn the Razorbacks into the antidote to their problems.
Now it is even more important than it was last week that Auburn wins because if Alex Golesh loses a fourth time to Ryan Silverfield, I couldn't imagine how fans will be since they have already been calling for coaches' jobs.
Here are three things to expect when Auburn hosts Arkansas:
No. 1: Auburn potentially (finally) figures out the run game
The Tigers haven't been able to run the ball consistently this year. Those kinds of problems have led to a lot of quick three-and-outs, which also created time-of-possession problems. Those time-of-possession problems have been heavily shouldered by a defense that has been on the field more than the offense. I said before that Alex Golesh needed to win against Ole Miss to keep the promise of change going. They ultimately lost that game in a heart-wrenching fashion.
Then earlier in the week, Golesh came out and said they are still looking for answers along the offensive line while at the same time praising them for being able to sustain longer drives. They have to fix the tackles for loss, but this was probably the most successful group that has been trotted on the field. This would be a week to prove that this might be the set up for Auburn's offense to hang its hat on. The play calling has to change, and that is almost expected this week.
No. 2: The defense may hold strong in the fourth quarter
Everything last week for Auburn went about as well as they could get for three quarters. Then, after Trinidad Chambliss's rushing touchdown, the defense just fell apart. That can't happen again this week against KJ Jackson and company. There are some very good weapons for Ryan Silverfield to build off of, like emerging stud underclassman wide receiver Antonio Jordan. He is six-foot-six and 225 pounds, an easy target for Jackson to throw to. Jordan towers over every defensive back Auburn has, so they have to beat his athleticism. That would be something Champ Anthony might have to do since Silvester Smith-Reed and Andre Jordan Jr. are still injured.
If the defense goes out and lets Arkansas stay in the game with Auburn, they could easily win again and create another week where Tiger fans have to hope their team can show up on Saturday.
No. 3: Confidence comes back to this team
The quitting statement that Golesh went on about in his press conference was about his team not showing up against Ole Miss last week. It was at the moment that Trinidad Chambliss ran for his touchdown that the defense looked like they had no idea he could scramble, and they had no idea how to defend him anymore. Passes that weren't getting completed during the first three quarters were suddenly being allowed. Then we all saw the game get out of hand in the fourth because the offense had to move the ball down the field and couldn't. Especially with all the screen passes, it was almost as if Byrum Brown threw for more yards by throwing towards the sideline than he did throwing it down the field. That ended up with Brown still not breaking 200 yards passing for the fifth straight week and could be having a weighing effect on his confidence. Doing that again for the sixth time could be even worse for his confidence.
If Auburn can have confidence throughout the entire game and not be in a close game with Arkansas, then maybe this team can actually finish 8-4, but until then, this game should be taken seriously. A good win today could be paramount for this teams success going into the rest of the season.
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