The Southeastern Conference schedule rarely shows its softer side, but Auburn finds itself with in a stretch of promising opportunities starting with Saturday afternoon’s home matchup against Arkansas.
A 10 1/2-point favorite, the Tigers (4-4, 2-4 SEC) will welcome the Razorbacks (3-5, 1-4) to the Plains with the visitors having dropped three of four contests.
Mississippi State (4-4, 2-4) will be next up Nov. 14, though on the road. With a season-ending injury to breakout star quarterback Kamario Taylor, the Bulldogs have struggled during a four-game losing skid.
And with nonconference Samford coming in on Nov. 21, ample opportunity exists to get to 7-4 heading into the Iron Bowl.
“You’re playing a football team that, in a lot of ways, is trying to, in Year 1, find their true identity,” Auburn’s Alex Golesh, himself a first-year coach, said of the Razorbacks. “You have to buckle up and be ready to rock every single week.
“The margins are tiny. Every part of everything matters.”
Byrum Brown rushed and passed for a score in Auburn’s 45-15 road loss to then-No. 12 Ole Miss, as Golesh’s squad lost its second straight and third of four.
Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield is 3-0 head-to-head against Golesh during their time at Memphis and South Florida, respectively.
The Razorbacks have not faced a true running quarterback in the past three outings but will see one in Brown.
“Byrum Brown is a guy that (defensive coordinator Ron) Roberts has seen at Florida, and we faced him our years at Memphis,” Silverfield said. “He’s talented. I think he’s had a rushing touchdown in six straight games. He’s their leading rusher. Anytime the quarterback’s the leading runner for a team, you’re going to have your hands full.”
Arkansas ranks 126th in scoring offense at 19.6 per game — last among Power Four teams — and could not reach that number in last week’s 34-10 loss to then-No. 23 Missouri.
Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey has been with Silverfield since 2022 at Memphis and is bearing the brunt of the scoring woes.
“We’re all part of the practice plan, putting it together and all that stuff,” Silverfield said of the offense. “But in game, for the most part, Tim is calling.”