For the past few weeks, it has felt like the Auburn football team has been on a downward spiral, but if there has been one bright spot, it has most definitely been the defense.
Loaded up with talented freshmen who seem to improve every week under the leadership of guys like Keldric Faulk, Kayin Lee and Keyron Crawford, the defense has been the only reason that the Tigers have been able to keep any of their conference games close.
They will face a big challenge this week against the Arkansas Razorbacks, whose quarterback ranks No. 1 in total offense and whose offense is ranked No. 4 nationally. Still, Arkansas interim head coach Bobby Petrino is not overlooking the Tigers' defense, and had high praise for Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin and his group.
"He's a very unique coach, and he has a really good system," Petrino said of Durkin, per The Montgomery Advertiser. "He does a good job of defending plays, so we've got to be on top of our game and really do a good job of our substitutions, our alignments, our tempo. I think it's up to us to be able to change up those things and put some pressure on how they call things."
It won't be the first time the Tigers go up against quarterback Taylen Green and the Razorbacks, and sophomore defensive end Amaris Williams believes the defense has a solid plan for attacking Arkansas' offense.
"We've just got to keep that quarterback caged in, don't let him get out of that pocket," Williams said, per Auburn Undercover. "Attack certain angles with him or at him so he can't release how he wants to. Just make him uncomfortable to a point where he got to do stuff he's never done before. This Auburn defense — a lot of people aren't really used to playing a defense like us, so the pressure and all the different types of things coming at him, he's not gonna be used to."
The Tigers and the Razorbacks will kick off from Fayetteville at 11:45 on Saturday morning.