Auburn kicker Alex McPherson booted a 43-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining on Saturday afternoon, lifting the Tigers to a 26-23 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game-winning drive was a 10-play, 50-yard sequence capped by McPherson’s kick, punctuating a wild fourth quarter that saw 27 points scored between the two teams.
The Razorbacks held a 13-9 lead at the end of the third quarter before a frantic final period unfolded. Arkansas (3-6, 1-5 SEC) tied the game at 23-23 with 1 minute, 56 seconds to play when Antonio Jordan hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from KJ Jackson. Auburn (5-4, 3-4) responded immediately, going 50 yards in 10 plays to set up McPherson’s decisive kick. The Razorbacks used all of their timeouts on the Tigers’ final possession to conserve time, but with none left, Arkansas’s final drive was chaotic. An intentional grounding call resulted in a 10-second runoff, and a final lateral play as time expired was fumbled and recovered by Auburn.
Tale of Two Halves for Auburn’s Byrum Brown
Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown was the story of the game’s second half. He struggled in the first half but came alive after the intermission, completing 10 of 14 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing 17 times for 125 yards and a touchdown in the second half alone. Brown ran for a touchdown for the sixth game in a row.
His 28-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Singleton with 3:56 remaining gave the Tigers a 23-16 lead. On the play, Brown escaped what looked like a sack by linebacker Ja’Quavion Smith and found Singleton wide open in the end zone.
AUBURN 26, ARKANSAS 23 MCPHERSON RESCUES AUBURN Alex McPherson kicked a 43-yard field goal with 33 seconds left Saturday in Auburn, giving the Tigers a 26-23 victory over Arkansas after the Razorbacks had tied it with 1:54 remaining. Byrum Brown threw two touchdown passes and ran…
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Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson, playing in his home state, responded to Brown’s score with a pair of big throws on the ensuing drive. He connected with tight end Ty Lockwood for 43 yards and then found Jordan for the 23-yard touchdown to tie the game. Jackson finished the day completing 14 of 30 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while under constant pressure from the Auburn defense after halftime. The Tigers finished with 6 sacks for 42 yards in lost yardage.
Linebacker Shadarius Toodle had a standout performance in his Auburn debut, recording 11 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 3 sacks. Toodle was pressed into action due to multiple injuries in the Tigers’ linebacker corps.
Razorbacks’ Second Struggles Seal Fate
Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield lamented his team’s second-half performance, particularly the inability to stop Brown. “In the second half we were not able to stop their quarterback and his run ability,” Silverfield said. He called the five sacks and eight TFLs in the second half “inexcusable.”
“You put yourself in an opportunity to go out there and win an SEC road game, and clearly we weren’t able to execute when we needed to,” Silverfield said. “Ultimately, that’s why the mood is what it is in the locker room. We’ve got to find ways. The guys battle, they fight, they do all the things the right way, but it’s got to show up in the execution today in the second half.”
The Razorbacks’ defense was dominant early, forcing third-and-long with regularity. At one point, Auburn’s offense had managed just 39 yards with Brown held to minus-10 rushing yards. The script flipped dramatically in the second half. Auburn took its first lead of the game on Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run with 12:50 remaining. Arkansas kicker Max Gilbert tied the game at 16-16 with a 46-yard field goal that ricocheted off the left upright with 9:32 to play. Gilbert was 3-for-5 on the day, making field goals from 38, 37, and 46 yards but missing from 53 and 51.
Razorbacks Run Game Provides Spark
The Arkansas offense found success on the ground, especially in the first half. The Razorbacks officially rushed 44 times for 172 yards, but that number jumps to 214 yards when adjusted for sacks. Settles led the team with 100 yards on 16 carries, including a 46-yard run that set up Gilbert’s late third-quarter field goal.
“He did some nice things,” Silverfield said of Settles, a freshman who entered the game with 214 yards on 55 carries. “I think he was able to run a variety of the run concepts and find a way to get north and south, which was huge.”
Arkansas got on the scoreboard first with a 38-yard field goal by Max Gilbert with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Razorbacks extended their lead to 10-0 on Braylen Russell’s 2-yard touchdown run with 11:21 remaining in the first half, a score set up by a 65-yard run from Sutton Smith to the Auburn 1.
Auburn’s first points came on a 33-yard field goal by McPherson with 3 seconds left in the first half. The Tigers took the lead in the third quarter when Bentonville native Chas Nimrod caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brown. McPherson missed the extra point, keeping the score at 10-9.
The Tigers became the first home team to win in the series since 2020. Auburn moved within one victory of becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2023. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, will finish the season with three consecutive games against teams ranked in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, starting with 21st-ranked South Carolina next Saturday.
