The Arkansas Razorbacks picked up a monumental win Saturday night with a 38-14 blowout of the defending national champions, the #15 Auburn Tigers. Auburn (4-2, 2-1) came into Fayetteville undefeated in SEC play with hopes of continuing what has been a surprising season, but they ran into a dangerous Arkansas team that is finally clicking on both sides of the ball. The Hogs predictably got off to a rocky start, trailing the Tigers 14-7 at the end of the first quarter; however, they went on to hold Auburn scoreless the rest of the way while reeling off 31 unanswered points in what turned out to be a dominating performance.
Tyler Wilson once again turned in a solid performance for the Razorbacks, completing 24 of 36 passes for 262 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Between the 1st and 3rd quarters, Wilson completed 19 straight passes. The biggest offensive play of the night for the Hogs came in the middle of the 3rd quarter as they were pinned at their own 8 yard line. Wilson handed the ball off to WR Joe Adams for a simple sweep play to the outside. After catching a couple of nice blocks, Adams' speed turned what should have been a nice 8-12 yard gain into a 92 yard sprint to the endzone, putting the game out of reach, 28-14. A Zach Hocker field goal and an 18 yard pass to Dennis Johnson later, the Hogs had pushed their lead out to the final of 38-14.
Many landmarks were reached by the Hogs in this game. Tyler Wilson's 19 consecutive completions tied for the third longest completion streak in SEC history. The win itself was also monumental for the team as a whole. It marked only the second time in program history that the Hogs have knocked off top 15 teams in consecutive weeks (#14 Texas A&M last week, #15 Auburn this week). The only other time this occurred was back in 1999 as the Hogs defeated #3 Tennessee and #12 Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. The win also moved the Hogs' record to 5-1, their best start under coach Bobby Petrino and only their second 5-1 start since joining the SEC in 1992.
This win has given fans hope that a return trip to the Sugar Bowl is still possible. The Hogs will be favored in the rest of their games up until their November 25 showdown with #1 LSU in Baton Rouge and will likely enter that game with a 10-1 record and possibly as a top 5 team. It will be very interesting to see how things shake up as the season rolls on. How do you guys see the season playing out from here?
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