The Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 9 Auburn Tigers will square off on the grass at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The matchup is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET and SEC Network will televise the action.
Arkansas Razorbacks at Auburn Tigers Betting Preview
Arkansas is a heavy live dog here and is currently receiving 29 points by bookmakers. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 57 points. Some solid in-game betting possibilities should present themselves during this match.
This game’s O/U has not moved after being set initially at 57. Having said that, the opening line was -24 and has recently moved down to -29.
The disappointing Razorbacks are 1-2 against the spread (ATS) and are down 9.6 units so far in 2018. They’ve been a good under bet and have recorded an O/U mark of 0-2. The Tigers are down 3.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 1-2 ATS and have an O/U record of 1-2.
The Razorbacks have gone 1-2 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any SEC competition yet. The Tigers are 2-1 SU overall and 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Razorbacks fell to North Texas 44-17 in a thumping where their secondary allowed the Mean Green to air it out for 281 yards. Offensively, the Razorbacks completed 20-of-45 passes for 210 yards and six interceptions. Cole Kelley went 16-for-35 for 185 yards and four interceptions while Connor Noland completed four-of-seven for 25 yards and one interception. Devwah Whaley (only 12 yards on nine rush attempts) led the running attack while Michael Woods (four receptions, 61 yards) and La’Michael Pettway (four catches, 49 yards) manned the receiving duties in the defeat.
A week ago, LSU knocked off this Auburn crew by a score of 22-21. Jarrett Stidham completed 16-of-28 passes for 198 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. JaTarvious Whitlow (104 rushing yards on 22 attempts, one TD) spearheaded the running game as Ryan Davis (three receptions, 23 yards) and Darius Slayton (three catches, 33 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
Arkansas has run the ball on 56.0 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Auburn has a rush percentage of 64.5 percent. The Razorbacks have run for 168 yards/game and have five scores on the ground this year. The Tigers are putting up 235 rush yards per game and have nine total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Tigers could own the edge when it comes to efficiency in the ground game. Their running backs has produced 5.0 yards per carry while the defense is allowing 2.5 YPC to opponents. The Razorbacks have ran for 4.1 yards per carry while allowing 2.8 YPC to opponents.
The Razorbacks offense has averaged 234 yards through the air overall and has six passing scores so far. The Tigers have recorded 203 pass yards per game and have three total pass TDs.
Arkansas has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 87 yards and throw for 300 yards per game. The Auburn defense has given up 234.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 90.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Tigers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.87 to opponents, while the Razorbacks have given up a 6.66 ANY/A.
Offensively, Kelley has put up 277 passing yards this year. He’s connected on 53 percent of his 47 attempts with one passing scores and four interceptions. He has a 2.49 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 3.00 over the last two games.
Jarrett Stidham has connected on 42-of-64 passes for 471 yards, two TDs and two INTs for Auburn. His ANY/A sits at 5.91 for the year and 6.33 over his past two games.
These two teams met last year with the final result being a 52-20 victory for Auburn.
NCAA Pick: Arkansas Razorbacks at Auburn Tigers
SU Winner – Auburn, ATS Winner – Arkansas, O/U – Over
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Notes
Team Betting Notes
Arkansas was favored by 5 points in its last game and the Over/Under was set at 63. The under cashed and Arkansas failed to cover in the 44-17 defeat to North Texas.
As a team, Arkansas has rushed for 5.0 yards per carry over its last two games.
Auburn has averaged 5.8 YPC over its last two.
The Auburn offense has lost four fumbles this season while Arkansas has not lost any.
Auburn was favored by 10 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 46. The under cashed and Auburn failed to cover in the 22-21 defeat to LSU.
Over its last three games, Auburn is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
The Razorbacks offense has created five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Tigers have accounted for one such play.
The Arkansas defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Auburn has given up three such plays.
The Arkansas offense has created two rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Auburn has created three such runs.
The Razorbacks defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Tigers have given up three such runs.
The Auburn defense has notched twice as many sacks as Arkansas this year (10 versus five).
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