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No. 21 Auburn defeated No. 17 Arkansas on Saturday evening in dominating fashion, beating the Razorbacks, 56-3.
1.
If 56-3 holds this will be the most lopsided Auburn margin of victory in an SEC game since 56-0 MSU on Nov. 1, 1970. 2nd all-time.
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) October 23, 2016
2. The Tigers rushed for 543 yards. That number set a new SEC conference-game regular-season record. That’s also the most rushing yards in any FBS game this season.
3. Those 543 rushing yards also set a school record for Arkansas’ defense, but as you probably figured, it wasn’t a positive one.
4. The 56-3 win went down as the biggest victory against a ranked opponent in Auburn school history.
5. Auburn raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, the largest lead the Tigers have had against an SEC opponent in a first quarter since the 2005 Iron Bowl.
6. Auburn’s 183 rushing yards in the first quarter were their most in a single quarter since the 2013 SEC title game against Missouri. (In that game, Auburn managed to put up a whopping 212 yards in the third quarter.)
7. Auburn scoring big in the first quarter has been a trend as of late. In the Tigers’ last three games, against Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State, and Arkansas, Auburn has outscored opponents 49-0 in the first 15 minutes.
8. And how about Auburn’s defense? Arkansas passed for only 190 yards, its lowest total of the year. The Hogs threw for 400 against Alabama a couple weeks ago.
9. Even better, the Razorbacks ran for a dismal 25 yards with a .8-yard average, their worst day on the ground since 2011’s Alabama game. Auburn gained more than 10 times as many yards per rush (9.5) as Arkansas did!
10. “Auburn has outscored its opponents 150-24 over the last 11 quarters,” per AU.
11. Auburn put up 56 points while only passing for 89 yards. QB Sean White avoided mistakes and ran for 61 yards of his own.
Tigers running back Kamryn Pettway, filling in for an injured Kerryon Johnson, had a career-high night, rushing for 169 yards. Auburn’s running back corps had a combined seven touchdowns.
This thrashing makes this year’s Iron Bowl look more intriguing than it did earlier in the season. Auburn still has to travel to Ole Miss and Georgia before heading to Tuscaloosa, but there’s now more reason to think the Tigers might be able to give the Tide a game.
Still, this has got to be sweet for Gus Malzahn, who’s bounced off the hot seat, established himself back in the top 20, and on Saturday, destroyed a rival.