In Auburn's first conference game of the 16-team SEC, there's no shortage of intrigue on both sides.
Arkansas — the last Power Four opponent Auburn has beaten, going back to last November — knew there was going to be pressure surrounding most every game this season. Fifth-year Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman's job appeared to be in jeopardy late last season — Auburn's 48-10 win in Fayetteville played a hand in that — but Arkansas opted not to pull the plug.
On Auburn's side, the Tigers weren't planning on already being in the loss column in September. They faltered offensively against Cal so much that they made a quarterback change from Payton Thorne to Hank Brown, after propping up Thorne's hopeful improvements with improved personnel all offseason. With a loss Saturday, Auburn would have two losses in the first four games of the season before facing any of the five currently ranked teams on its schedule.
There's a long, long way to go in the 2024 season. But the SEC opener in Jordan-Hare Stadium feels like an important game for a lot of reasons. And both teams recognize that — as they'll have to do every week in this league.
"It's kill or be killed," Auburn edge rusher Keyron Crawford said. "Either we're going to lay down or step up to challenge. And I feel like we will."
Last season's landslide in Razorback Stadium felt like a turning point for Auburn and Hugh Freeze. It was — in a more derogatory sense. Since that blowout victory, Auburn has lost to New Mexico State, Alabama, Maryland and Cal in the last six games. A win Saturday could be the shift the Tigers need back in the other direction.
But Arkansas won't be lacking motivation in that sense, either.
"They beat the heck out of us," Pittman said this week.
Freeze said this week he "hopes" he doesn't have to tell his team to ignore last season's result, as this year's Arkansas team looks to be improved in a number of areas. Still, the Razorbacks remember that feeling on their home turf quite well.
"We didn't like the taste that was left in our mouth after that," Arkansas safety Jayden Johnson said this week. "So yeah, we're just coming back ready, all right, ready to go."
Tons of attention for Auburn will be on Brown, who threw four touchdowns in his starting debut last week against New Mexico. But Freeze spoke this week about ensuring the game plan is sound for his young QB. Brown is skilled, and the Tigers obviously believe in him, but they also know he doesn't need constant pressure to produce at a high level every play. Staying ahead of the chains and with the support of Jarquez Hunter and the running game will be key.
There will be moments, though, where Brown will have to make some big throws in key spots — on third down, in the red zone, etc. He hopes he can carry the same mindset as last week — and going back to the beginning of the season, for that matter.
"I think from the first week, I've tried to prepare like I was the starter," Brown said. "Now that I am, I will continue to prepare, obviously, in that way. There's a level of intensity that rises just within the team now that it's SEC play. My challenge for the team is that we approach every week as the most important game. That's what I'm going to continue to do."
Arkansas brings an intriguing quarterback of its own in Boise State transfer Taylen Green, who's been electric but inconsistent in the Hogs' two FBS games this season. He had 477 total yards of offense in a near upset on the road at Oklahoma State, then turned around an completed only 42 percent of his passes in a clunky win over UAB.
However, for as dynamic as coordinator Bobby Petrino's passing attacks can be, Arkansas' identity has always been found on the ground. Ja'Quinden Jackson is the league's leading rusher, already with 397 yards and six touchdowns. Auburn's run defense has been solid through three games, and the Tigers welcome a true line-of-scrimmage battle.
"I was looking forward to getting into SEC play, personally," Auburn defensive tackle Isaiah Raikes said. "When we play other teams outside of the SEC, they do different schemes and different things. But a lot of teams in the SEC want to ground and pound the ball and show you who's more physical. And that's kind of the game I want to play."
Both teams should learn a lot about themselves Saturday, and how they stack up against SEC-level competition heading into the rest of the schedule. For Auburn, it's an opportunity to prove the Cal game — particularly on offense — will be an outlier in 2024, not the expectation.
Either way, there's never much need for motivation when SEC competition rolls around.
"I just tell them to go out there and be who you are, be who you've been training your whole life to be," Auburn tight end Rivaldo Fairweather said of his message to his teammates. "We're in the SEC for a reason."
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