Auburn was in a battle the whole game with Arkansas. The first half was probably one of the worst fans had ever seen. But unlike the Ole Miss game, the second half was better for Auburn than it had been in recent weeks. The last 3 minutes of the game were where all the action was, as the two sides started scoring. Byrum Brown would hit Singleton for an amazing touchdown pass after breaking out of a sack.
But ultimately, for once, it was the offense that won the game. With a minute left, tied 23-a-piece, the offense was finally able to put together a run game when Auburn needed it most. It was a hard drive to get into range for Alex McPherson to kick the game-winning field goal, but they did it.
The game was nasty and not a clean way to win in Jordan-Hare, but some will be happy with just a win.
Here are the three winners and three losers in today's win over Arkansas:
Winner: LB Shadarius Toodle
Shadarius Toodle came in for an injured DeMarcus Riddick, who was filling in for Bryce Deas not being able to go. His impact was felt immediately by getting a sack on a crucial third down. That sparked former teammate Xavier Atkins to go to X and celebrate the opportunity. Toodle would finish off the day with three sacks and 11 tackles, and now potentially more playing time after that game. Hopefully there is more playing time for Toodle, but he is the unspoken winner of this game for Auburn and the defense.
Winner: DB RayShawn Pleasant
RayShawn was a consistent wall on the outside against Antonio Jordan, who outsized him. With Pleasant locked on Jordan, that allowed Arkansas' Chris Marshall to make some plays and let the Hogs move the ball down the field, which caused the first-half deficit. He did get beat being on a true island against Jordan, giving up the touchdown late. But the defense was able to hold up at the very end, and Pleasant was a key part of that.
Winner: DL Cody Sigler
I know a lot of people are going to say Brown deserves to be here, which he totally does. But Cody Sigler just wins today because he was battling an injury the whole game and never let it stop him. You could see Sigler trying to get his shoulder right after taking a hard bump during a pass rush attempt. He had laid it all on the field against Arkansas, tallying up four tackles and a half sack. Cody had said that he wants to help Golesh change Auburn for the better, and he did that today.
Now it is time for the losers. These guys, even though they won the game, still had enough moments to be losers today.
Loser: Every defensive lineman not named Cody Sigler
Just like Sigler being a winner today, there was a loser today, and the loser was the rest of his lineman teammates. They all played so poorly around Sigler. Arkansas RB Cam Settles was able to make play after play only because Sigler was the only one able to make a stop. At least until freshman LB Toodle entered. But even then, if it wasn't Sigler, Toodle, or Pleasant, there wasn't much life from this defense at all. I wanted to say the rest of the defense, but the defensive line play was so bad that it had to be mentioned first. Giving up over 100 yards in the first half was just a terrible showing, especially when the Hogs don't have a running back with 500 yards rushing this year.
Loser: Auburn's running back room
The same 15 rushes for the same two running backs for the sixth straight week. Jeremiah Cobb got the bulk again, getting 11 carries but only managing 41 yards. Then Omar Mabsen II got only four carries for nine yards. It felt like another wasted effort from our RB room that hasn't been utilized at all this season. DeShawn Spencer did more with his two carries than both Cobb and Mabsen combined, and he got the ball down near the goal line.
I am not sure what to say for Auburn running backs this year, but this is an all-time low for them.
Loser: DC DJ Durkin
This is the week that Durkin didn't want to happen. His defense looked horrible in the first half against Arkansas, and the offense was no better. But what makes Durkin the loser today is holding back Toodle.
Which is going to sound odd at first, but let me explain.
If Toodle was capable of playing at this level alongside Elijah Melendez and Deas, then why hasn't he been on the field more? Ironically, the sudden breaths of life for both the offense and defense have been the underclassmen.
Which almost makes me ask the question: would Deas have been as effective as Toodle is today? I am not sure, but after finding out that Deas is out for the season, then maybe we can see an increased role in Toodle's usage.
Durkin also gets to be a loser for allowing Pleasant to be on an island against Antonio Jordan late in the game. That play turned into a touchdown to tie the game. If Auburn's offense wasn't able to come alive in the second half, then this could have swung the momentum Arkansas' way. Luckily, Brown was very effective and saved the day by getting the offense into field goal range. Then used time off the clock enough that Arkansas' KJ Jackson didn't have enough time to get down the field to answer.
Sadly, though, either coach could have been a loser today. The only thing that actually separated Joel Gordon and Durkin was that Gordon was able to successfully operate a game-winning field goal sequence. That is truly it; if Auburn lost, then it would have been on the offense for being 1-9 on third down before halftime. If that had continued, then there would have been no saving for Gordon for looking bad against two of the worst defenses in the SEC in back-to-back weeks.
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