The Razorbacks' (2-4, 1-2) defense forced five turnovers, leading them to a 24-7 road victory Saturday against the Auburn Tigers (1-4, 0-2). The first Southeastern Conference win of the season ends the Hogs four-game losing streak.
"Relentless effort, relentless effort, relentless effort, said Arkansas Head Coach John L. Smith. "We all played extremely hard, so I'd like to keep this very short and let you start talking to the players because they're the ones that did it, and they're the ones that deserve this credit."Springfield, MO (OzarksSportsZone.com) -- Arkansas' offense scored the first ten points of the game. Running-back Dennis Johnson rushed for a two-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter. A Zach Hocker 27-yard field goal made the score 10-0 at the half.
Auburn's offense struggled against an Arkansas defense that had struggled to stop its opponents all season. Auburn's lone touchdown came in the third-quarter when back-up quarterback Clint Moseley found Emory Blake for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Moseley replaced Auburn's starting quarterback Kiehl Frazier after he was ineffective in the first-half.
Arkansas sacked Auburn quarterbacks eight times. The Tigers offensive line gave up just nine sacks combined over the first four games of the season.
"I think you can start with turnovers and sacks," said Auburn Head Coach Gene Chizik. "I don't have to go any further than that. You have five turnovers, and you have eight sacks, the offense has regressed. So, I think that is pretty self-explanatory."
Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson led the Hogs on two scoring drives in the second-half to end any hopes of an Auburn comeback. The Hogs scored early in the fourth-quarter on a trick play. Former back-up quarterback turned receiver Brandon Mitchell threw a strike to Javontee Herndon for a 26-yard touchdown pass.
Dennis Johnson added a one-yard run to cap the scoring in the final few minutes of the game. Wilson finished 20-of-27 for 216 yards. Johnson added another 76 yards on the ground to go with his two touchdowns.
"It's going to wipe away some (things), said Johnson on the victory. "People are going to say what they're going to say. But if we keep winning, it will wipe away a lot more."
The Razorbacks outgained the Tigers 370-320 yards. The Hogs finished the game plus-three in turnover ratio.
Arkansas returns home next Saturday night to play Kentucky. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m
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