KeAndre Lambert-Smith has been a Star for Auburn Tigers

Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith has been one of the few bright spots for the Auburn Tigers offense, and he still believes in his teammates.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith brings in a one-handed catch against the Arkansas Razorbacks. /

A big day for receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith was ultimately ruined as Auburn opened SEC play with a 24-14 home loss to Arkansas.

“Nobody likes losing,” Lambert-Smith said. “That was a tough L. We’re going to get back to the drawing board and make the corrections, and come out here and try to knock off a top 20 team next week.”

Oklahoma visits Jordan-Hare next Saturday. The Sooners lost to No. 6 Tennessee 25-16 on Saturday. Auburn is 2-2, 0-1 in the SEC while the Sooners come in 3-1, 0-1 in the SEC.

“We’re just facing adversity as a team right now,” Lambert-Smith said. “We believe in the QB room as an offense as a team. So they’re going to get that handled and situated. They’re going to make their corrections. The receivers are going to take accountability for a few of those picks on the tipped balls where we should have been deeper on the route, or in a different spot. So we’re going to take accountability, come together as a collective, and be better.”

Lambert-Smith caught five passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, with most of his production coming in the second half as Payton Thorne took over for Hank Brown, who threw three first-half interceptions.

Lambert-Smith had a one-handed 54-yard grab in the third quarter on a throw down the sideline from Thorne, and he scored two plays later on a throw over the middle.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith brings in a one-handed catch against the Arkansas Razorbacks. /

“That’s basically who I got all of my reps with when I got here in the summer,” he said of his relationship with Thorne. “So we’ve always had a connection since day one. That’s with all the QBs though. We just made plays in the second half.”

In the fourth quarter down 17-7 Auburn was faced with a 4th and 3 at its own 33 with around 10 minutes remaining. Hugh Freeze gambled, went for it, and it paid off. Lambert-Smith caught a slant and was immediately past the defense for a 67-yard score.

It was almost not to be. Arkansas’ safety in coverage broke on an out route, and Lambert-Smith said he almost ran the out.

“It was an option route,” Lambert-Smith said. “At the last second I was about to break out. At the last second I saw the blitz, and I saw the safety come down. Then nobody was in the middle. It was one of those split decisions on the run. Payton gave me a good ball. I couldn’t see it – it was right in the sun. But he gave me a good ball, and I made the rest happen.”

It was another five-turnover performance by the offense, and yet again there are a number of players responsible for them.

“It’s frustrating, but we’re not going to point no fingers,” Lambert-Smith said. “I feel like everybody plays a part in that. Everybody has to protect the ball, as a team – receivers, O-line, QBs, whoever has possession of the ball at the time. I think we can all get better that. We’re going to look at all the corrections, and go back to work.”