COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP

Auburn turns it on, pulls past Arkansas in second half

The Sports Xchange

August 30, 2014 at 6:26 pm.

Corey Grant was a big part of Auburn's offense in its win over Arkansas. (John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)

AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas’ recent run of good luck against No. 6 Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium ran out Saturday as the reigning SEC champions dropped the visiting Hogs 45-21 thanks to a huge second half keyed by the return of Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall from a brief suspension.

The Razorbacks had won three of the last four games at Auburn, but the national championship runner-up Tigers rebounded well in this season opener from their crushing last-second loss to No. 1 Florida State in college football’s final BCS title game last season.

This season marks the beginning of the NCAA’s first four-team playoff format to decide the national champ, and Auburn’s 595 yards — plus a 1-0 start in the nation’s toughest conference — were a good place to begin Saturday.

After going to halftime tied 21-21, the Tigers outscored the Razorbacks 24-0 in the second half, keyed by a 32-yard interception return for a TD by defensive back Jermaine Whitehead, who also led the Tigers’ defense with seven tackles.

The game also featured a 1 hour and 15-minute weather delay because of lightning. It finally resumed under a heavy downpour.

Auburn was gashed for 151 yards on the ground by Arkansas in the first half and gave up 328 yards to the Razorbacks, who went 3-9 a season ago in coach Brett Bielema’s first year. But the Auburn defense adjusted well at halftime and held the Hogs to no second-half points.

Arkansas lost its 12th consecutive conference game dating to the 2012 season. The Razorbacks, however, looked vastly improved for at least a half — especially junior QB Brandon Allen, who tallied 175 yards passing and threw two touchdowns in the loss.

With Marshall suspended for the first half of the opener for misdemeanor marijuana possession during the offseason, sophomore backup Jeremy Johnson got the start. Johnson, a 6-foot-5 former Mr. Alabama Football, made sure the Tigers’ offense remained a well-oiled machine. Johnson completed 7 of 7 passes for 186 yards and one TD in the first quarter and finished 12 of 16 for 243 yards and two TDs before giving way to Marshall to open the second half.

The sophomore led the Tigers to a score on their opening drive of the game, finding junior wideout Melvin Ray for a 49-yard catch-and-run just five minutes in.

The Arkansas rushing attack plowed through Auburn’s defense on its second possession and answered with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive in under three minutes. It was capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Allen to wideout Hunter Henry that made it 7-7 with 6:44 left in the quarter.

Auburn senior Cameron Artis-Payne led the rushing attack — which ranked No. 1 in the nation a season ago at an average of 328 yards a game — with 26 carries for 178 yards. He scored on a 1-yard dive on Auburn’s second drive to put the Tigers ahead 14-7.

One possession later — after a long TD run by Artis-Payne was nullified by a Tigers penalty — Johnson propelled Auburn to a 21-7 lead with an 18-yard TD strike to junior wideout D’haquille Williams.

Williams was the nation’s No. 1 junior college prospect this offseason, and he didn’t disappoint in his Auburn debut, finishing with nine catches for 154 yards.

Arkansas didn’t go away, rallying from a 14-point hole and tying the game at 21-21 just before halftime. First, Allen finished off a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 17-yard TD pass to senior tight end AJ Derby.

Then the Arkansas defense forced its first stop and the offense responded with a 10-play, 93-yard drive that was capped by a 6-yard TD run by Jonathan Williams.

Auburn missed a chance to take a lead into halftime when kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired.

Marshall’s first drive went 78 yards in nine plays in just over four minutes and ended with a 19-yard touchdown run by the senior that gave Auburn 28-21 lead. Marshall finished with 50 yards passing and 18 rushing.

The Tigers never looked back. Whitehead’s interception return and a 45-yard field goal by Carlson put Auburn up 38-21.

After the weather delay, Auburn drove 85 yards in eight plays, effectively sealing it when backup running back Corey Grant, a senior, capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run to make it 45-21.

Auburn defensive back Jonathon Mincy, who didn’t start the game after serving the same half-game suspension as Marshall, tied Whitehead for the team lead with seven tackles.

Alex Collins led Arkansas with 68 yards rushing and Demetrius Wilson finished with a team-high four catches and 55 yards in the loss. Razorbacks senior safety Alan Turner led the defense with nine tackles, while junior safety Rohan Gaines and sophomore linebacker Brooks Ellis each tallied eight.

NOTES: There was a moment of silence before kickoff as the Tigers honored the memory of former stars Philip Lutzenkirchen and David Langer. The 23-year-old Lutzenkirchen, an NFL draft prospect who played on the Tigers’ 2010 national title team, died in a car crash earlier this year, while Langer, 62, recently lost his battle with cancer … Arkansas QB Allen, who shined Saturday, deserved some good fortune after having a tough last week. Allen’s truck was set on fire and destroyed Monday in an incident being investigated as a potential case of arson. Reports speculated the fire may have been due to Allen’s rough end to last season, coupled with some displeasure among the fan base after he was named the starter for this game. Allen’s teammates, however, seemed to be in his corner. “The whole team has (your) back and we all know you’re the guy to take us to the promised land,” tweeted senior tight end AJ Derby after the incident. … Auburn leads the series with Arkansas 13-10-1. The Tigers won last year’s meeting, 35-17, in Fayetteville.

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