The Auburn Tigers have won six straight games over Arkansas since 2016, the longest winning streak in the two SEC West’s team’s matchup history. This time around, things are a bit different. Arkansas, who entered the season with much higher hopes than they have lived up to, are a slight favorite over the downtrodden Tigers, even though the game is at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Arkansas, who was expected to take the next step as a program this season under Sam Pittman, has not had the type of season they wanted to coming in, stumbling to a 4-3 record with losses to Texas A&M, Alabama, and a blowout at the hands of Mississippi State. They have certainly shown flashes of being a good team, but the hopes of taking the leap as a program in Pittman’s third season after a 9-4 2020 appear to be dashed.
Auburn, on the other hand, entered the season with extremely low expectations and have lived up, or rather down, to them. To many’s surprise, Bryan Harsin is still the coach of the team, and I expect him to be there for the remainder of the season at this point. The Tigers have started to play a little bit better, but that will not be enough to keep Harsin’s job barring a miracle and a lot of wins.
I actually believe that Auburn is going to step up and win this game. Maybe that’s a foolish prediction given the fact that Arkansas is the better team with better coaching, but all the noise around the Tiger program this week and mass exodus of players makes me feel like Auburn is due for a big win. Look for the Tigers to continue their win streak over the Hogs on The Plains this weekend.
