Jim Harris: Tuberville Gets the Margin Right, Just the Wrong Team in Hogs' Kicking of Tigers

Arkansas' defense helped stall No. 17 Auburn's offense on Saturday. The Razorbacks won 44-23 against the previously unbeaten Tigers.

FAYETTEVILLE — If former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville keeps making predictions like he did earlier this week, saying his former team would wax Arkansas by three touchdowns in Fayetteville, he'll have an "expert analyst" day job for as long as he wants. TV doesn't want accuracy these days, just controversy. Lou Holtz and his professed never-ending love of Notre Dame on ESPN should be proof of that.

Get the people talking. "Can you believe what so-and-so said?...."

And when Arkansas goes on and wins 44-23 over the No. 17-ranked team in America, as the Razorbacks did Saturday, who remembers it? The Holtzes, Lee Corsos, Kirk Herbstreits, Tubervilles, Phil Fulmers and all the other ex-players or ex-coaches can keep babbling their expert commentary and prognostications, which in the long run are no more expert than the average fan shivering Saturday in the cheap seats of Reynolds Razorback Stadium might offer. Heck, give me that fan's view; it will probably be closer to exact.

Tuberville's words on TV and then related from his interview on Birmingham's WJOX sports radio certainly got Arkansas fans stirred. No doubt his opinion found its way to the Arkansas defensive players, whom Tuberville said "couldn't stop a cold," -- though we're not sure what that means.

Tuberville, who in person watched the Razorbacks dismantle previously unbeaten Texas A&M 47-19 last week at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, deduced that the Arkansas defense was unable to slow down anyone. (Magically, we guess, Texas A&M failed to score four more touchdowns to at least play the Hogs evenly.)

Or maybe the former Auburn coach, who spent five seasons waving off the vultures who kept circling him before they finally were able to dive in during last year's 5-7 debacle, was just playing his usually slick self. What better way to subtly put pressure on his successor and fire up his native state and its team, while still professing his love for the school paying him around $3 million again this year ($5.8 million total since his resignation late last year)? He gets to collect millions and still fire up the ol' red and white program he cheered as a child down in Camden.

Arkansas' defense did do a temporary disappearing act in the third quarter, when Auburn piled up 248 yards and three touchdowns, along with leaving another possible score on the ground at the UA 5 following Ben Tate's bobble.

But all that third-quarter offense for the Tigers was 73 more yards than Auburn managed in the other three quarters. Arkansas built a 27-3 lead at the half, drove after Tate's early second-half fumble to another score and a 34-3 advantage and then polished off the Tigers with 10 points in the fourth quarter after Auburn had climbed back to within 11.

Auburn, the second unbeaten, high-flying team in a row that Arkansas has taken down, had no excuses and made none.

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cobradad [10/10/2009 7:25:54 PM] [report abuse]

Maybe the defense is growing up a little, they better be fired up next week!

Hogjim [10/11/2009 2:56:53 PM] [report abuse]

my prediction,if they go into Gainesville Fla ready to play,and not be intimadated,they give the Gators all they want,and maybe come away with a win.

froghog [10/12/2009 10:44:07 AM] [report abuse]

a thousand pardons to the editor Harris. I called his Ark.-Auburn prediction last week a homer pick. Im beginning to think he is some kind of football genius. I cant wait to hear his prediction for this weeks Florida game.

Biggus [10/12/2009 3:54:02 PM] [report abuse]

That fumble by Ben Tate may have been the play of the game. Talk about a freak mistake, what was he doing? Tate didn't grab the handoff. Bizarre.

Had the Tigers scored there, it would have been only a 27-10 game. As you know, Arkansas drove 95 yards after the Tate fumble. Would the Hogs have moved the ball as well after a kickoff and a shot of enthusiasm on the Auburn sideline? How would Arkansas have reacted had Auburn pulled within one score?

As it was, 11 points was too close for comfort. Arkansas, without its top two wideouts, with Michael Smith worn down, still put the game away. The defense resumed its domination instead of completely wilting. Offense didn't shrivel the way it did at the end against Georgia.

The Hogs ended up controlling Auburn's offense about as well as Tennessee did. That was a wonderful development. Added two more 50+ yard plays to the list, though. That makes eight in five games. In the previous 36 regular season games, the Hogs gave up 14 total. You might remember how Chris Todd missed a wide-open receiver on a deep ball in the first quarter. Throwing deep has been the way to beat Arkansas for several years now, but Auburn hardly tried till it got way behind.

Ben Tate got 8.4 yards per carry, Terrell Zachery went 60 yards with a reverse, the Tigers had 242 yards rushing. But they had less than half their usual rushing first downs, making half their running total on two plays.

Auburn piled up almost 260 yards on its first four possessions of the second half. The Tigers had three more chances, and on 14 plays they gained 19 yards.

When the game was 34-23, Dennis Johnson uncorked a fantastic kickoff return. The Tigers could have stopped the bleeding, but Knile Davis converted a third and 1. Right after the Hogs got called for a chop block and had first and goal at the 21, the Tigers left D.J. Williams alone, and he made it to the 3. Next play, Broderick Green punched through the defense and scored.

On its subsequent drive, Auburn had to go for it on fourth and inches, and Chris Todd fumbled the snap on a QB sneak. Have to wonder how a senior QB screws up a sneak, though maybe playing shotgun all the time does it. Todd later fumbled when being sacked by Jerico Nelson, who quickly has become one of Arkansas's best players.

The way the game played out was more satisfying than a mere blowout. In the same game, the Hogs outplanned the Tigers, then showed they could recover from setbacks and retake control. Auburn had some good defensive backs, and Arkansas was pretty depleted, but the passing game still worked. And Michael Smith finally broke out of his slump.

It will be pretty rough playing that Florida defense (probably the equal of Alabama's) with or without Joe Adams and Jarius Wright. I just hope the Hogs don't beat themselves as much as they did at Tuscaloosa, put a little pressure on the Gators to execute, force them to make plays. Florida didn't score any more against Tennessee than Auburn did, and surely this won't be as high-emotion a game for them.

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brucethepig [10/12/2009 4:23:06 PM] [report abuse]

The game didn't surprise me very much. I predicted we would win that game all week. Yes, we capitalized on some mistakes but so what, that's what you are supposed to do. This week is going to be tough. As excited as I am about the victory over Auburn, playing Fla. in the swa...

Hogjim [10/12/2009 5:36:52 PM] [report abuse]

Biggus do you think TEBOW is going to come out passing? i think if the Hogs are ready to play,they will give the Gators all they want,i think the reason the Hogs gave up those two long runs in the third qt,is because they got a little bit relaxed,plus the fact Auburn was lea...

rightboot [10/12/2009 9:50:18 PM] [report abuse]

so tommy tuberville got it wrong,good for us,anybody got his address so we can send him a thank you card?

darkhollow deecee [10/13/2009 8:57:01 AM] [report abuse]

Go Hawgs!! Where are the people who were saying we were going to lose and how bad the defense is? Where are you people? Stop being so down and negative when we lose and after a win"I knew we could do it"!!! Some of you are true to the Hawgs but if we predict before the s...

Buddha [10/13/2009 9:16:09 AM] [report abuse]

Let's not forget that Ole Miss went into the Swamp and beat Florida last year - so stranger things have happened than the Hogs doing it this year. I wouldn't bet on it - but I can dang sure wish for it! Go Hogs!

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