10 Things to Know – Auburn

No. 17 Arkansas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) returns to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the first time in three weeks to square off against Auburn (4-2, 1-1 SEC) for an 11 a.m. tilt on Saturday, Oct. 16, that will air on CBS.

10 Things to Know

1. - The Razorbacks cracked 50 points for the first time in the Sam Pittman era last weekend, but fell in a shootout at Ole Miss, 52-51. Facing a seven-point deficit and 1:07 on the fourth quarter clock, quarterback KJ Jefferson marched the team down the field scoring a touchdown on a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Warren Thompson with zeros on the clock to bring Arkansas within one point. The Hogs attempted to win the game in regulation on a 2-point conversion attempt but came up short.

2. - For the fifth consecutive week and 422nd time in program history, the Razorbacks are ranked in the AP Poll, this week at No. 17. The Hogs’ have been ranked the 21st most times among all college football programs. The 2021 team is the first Hogs squad to be ranked inside the AP top 20 for five straight weeks since the final three weeks of 2011 and first two weeks of the 2012 season.

3. - Against Ole Miss, the Hogs racked up 676 total yards, the fourth-best single-game mark in program history and the most against an SEC opponent. The last time the Hogs broke the 660-yard mark was in 2016 at Mississippi State with a 661-yard outburst. The 1936 Razorbacks set the school record of 859 total yards in a 53-0 win over Pittsburgh (Kan.) State.

4. - The Razorbacks totaled a school-record 39 first downs against the Rebels, breaking the previous program benchmark of 37 first downs against TCU in 1980. It’s the most first downs by a team in an SEC conference game since Missouri totaled 41 first downs against Tennessee in 2016.

5. - The Arkansas rushing attack is one of the best in the country this season, averaging 244.8 yards per game on the ground to rank ninth-best nationally and fourth in the SEC. Running backs Trelon Smith and Raheim Sanders, along with quarterback KJ Jefferson, make up the FBS’ only trio of ball carriers to each have 300+ rushing yards on the same team. Smith leads the team producing 387 rushing yards.

6. - Quarterback KJ Jefferson turned in a performance for the record books at Ole Miss, completing 25-of-35 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 85 yards and three scores. Jefferson accounted for six touchdowns, the second most in a single game in school history. The redshirt sophomore has thrown for 1,235 yards and ran for 320 yards, and is the only quarterback in the SEC to throw for 1,200 yards and run for 300 this year. Jefferson leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally averaging 15.6 yards per completion.

7. - Wide receiver Treylon Burks leads the team with 29 receptions and ranks second in the SEC with 519 receiving yards. Burks also leads the team with three receiving scores. The junior (26 games) is one of only four FBS pass catchers to record a reception in every game played of their career (minimum 20 career games) joining Ball State’s Justin Hall (49 games), TCU’s JD Spielman (40 games) and Wisconsin’s Jake Ferguson (39 games). Against Ole Miss, Burks had a season-high seven grabs for 136 yards, his seventh 100+ yard game of his career. The wideout is just 60 yards away from entering the program’s top 10 for career receiving yards.

8. - Defensively, Arkansas ranks 17th nationally and third in the SEC allowing its opposition to convert just 29.9% of third downs. The Razorbacks’ passing defense is ranked second in the SEC and sixth nationally, allowing 156.0 yards per game. Top-ranked Georgia boast the nation’s best passing defense, allowing 137.0 yards per game.

9. - Second-year head coach Sam Pittman is one of just 14 SEC coaches in history to take over a team with a losing record and lead it to a top 10 spot in the AP Poll in their first two seasons. Pittman and Houston Nutt (1998) are the only Razorback head coaches to accomplish the feat.

10. - Auburn leads the all-time series against Arkansas, 18-11-1. The Razorbacks are attempting to break a five-game losing skid and win for the first time since Oct. 24, 2015, a 54-46 four-overtime triumph in Fayetteville. Last year in Auburn, the Hogs were narrowly defeated 30-28 in a game that saw Arkansas battle back from a 17-0 deficit. Last year, running back Trelon Smith became the first Razorback to total at least 70 rushing and receiving yards in the same game since 2000.