Razorbacks' Win Over Auburn Hopefully No Standard Going Ahead

One big stat broke in favor of Arkansas that can't really be counted on rest of season

Hogs' defensive back TJ Metcalf, offensive lineman Fernando Carmona / Hogs on Sports Illustrated

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If Arkansas defense back TJ Metcalf keeps having days like Saturday against Auburn he'll rake in accolades not seen before. He'll also be gone to the NFL in a couple of years.

The freshman from Birmingham, Ala., picked off two passes and caused a fumble. Auburn had five turnovers in the game, something else the Razorbacks likely won't get very often.

Most of those turnovers were unforced errors by the Tigers. Hugh Freeze changed quarterbacks from Hank Brown to Payton Thorne and it seemed to cut the flood a little.

It really was one of those days. Even an Auburn running back was running inside the 10 and appeared headed inside the 5 or the end zone when Damari Alston held the ball out away from his body, it was punched out by Metcalf and gave it back to the Hogs.

"All week coach has been on us about angling for the ball," Metcalf said later. "I just punched the ball out when I needed  to and we recovered it which was amazing."

Arkansas had a 7-0 lead at that point. Freeze lamented the missed opportunity later and said "we don't know what would have happened" if they had tied the game at halftime.

One Big Stat They Can't Count on Repeating

The bottom line is anybody that commits five turnovers in one game is probably going to lose the game. That's a time-honored saying that's held up for about a century or more.

The Razorbacks can't count on getting that amount of gifts every week. The odds are it probably won't happen again this season, although that's not taking away a thing from this win.

Auburn didn't play well and looked dysfunctional on offense throughout. The Hogs have seen that look, too, from a Freeze team. In 2014 Ole Miss brought a No. 8 team to Fayetteville and didn't score a single point.

As it played out, that win probably was the key win that provided a way for a 6-6 team to reach the Texas Bowl and a big win over a disinterested Texas team. That got Bret Bielema an inflated contract with a ridiculous buyout.

The Rebels went on to play in the Peach Bowl in the first year of New Year's 6 bowl games. Don't read too much into one game whether it's a win or a loss.

The Tigers had 10 points off turnovers and lost the game by that exact amount. Take them away and, well, Freeze was probably correct that nobody has a clue what would have happened. It doesn't really matter now, anyway.

Green's Bomb That Really Wasn't Planned

When Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green rolled to his left to get away from the constant pressure, he flung the ball downfield to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. It looked open to Green, which it was.

But he hung the ball in the air so long, Sategna had to fight a Tigers defensive back for the ball to complete a 58-yard scoring play. Let's not start assuming Green figred that one dead on target because it looked a lot like a Hail Mary-type throw at the end of a game.

"I saw Taylen rolling out and he let that one go, so I just had to do my job and come down with the ball," Sategna said, but wasn't expecting the pass interference call coach Sam Pittman said later he was. "They were playing pretty handsy all game and they weren’t calling. I wasn’t really expecting a pass interference, but I know I had to come down with the ball."

Let's Not Worry About What 'Could Have Been'

A lot of folks are already talking about this could be a 4-0 team except for the failures against Oklahoma State in the second game of the season. Don't do that.

Next up is Texas A&M in what will likely be the final game in that series at AT&T Stadium. Neither team wants to lose a home crowd and the novelty of the idea in 2009 has become a penalty in recruiting and revenue.

While the Aggies aren't ranked, they can't be over-looked. Considering the Razorbacks have found ways to lose this game for the last decade or so, just getting a win is probably the motto going forward.

This team doesn't have the smooth feel to it yet. But let's not dwell on the problems today because there's still a win to celebrate.

HOGS FEED:

• Problems persist, but Hogs' Pittman finally wins meaningful SEC game

• Arkansas makes less mistakes, wins SEC opener over Auburn

• Big uglies pave way for huge Razorbacks' road win at Auburn

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