Sloppy Auburn Tigers Drop Ugly Game to Arkansas Razorbacks 24-14

Auburn repeatedly shot itself in the foot against Arkansas, leading to its first SEC loss of the season.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Hank Brown threw three interceptions in the first half against Arkansas before getting hooked at halftime. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A rough first half that got increasingly harder to watch as it went along was too much for the Auburn Tigers to overcome.

Auburn (2-2, 0-1 SEC) fell 24-14 at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1, 1-0 SEC) in its conference play opener. The game had a similar feel to the loss to Cal earlier this year where penalties and turnovers doomed the Tigers.

Hank Brown threw a pass that was tipped up and intercepted by Arkansas on Auburn’s first offensive possession. That led to a touchdown for the Razorbacks which accounted for every point scored in the first half as they took a 7-0 lead into the break.

That drive could have ended with a three-and-out, but a late hit penalty on Austin Keys gave Arkansas the first down and 15 yards it needed to keep it alive.

Brown would go on to throw two more interceptions in the second quarter, including one that ended a drive that had Auburn in field goal range.

Brown was not the only Tiger who made a mistake in the first half. Damari Alston had a 36-yard carry that ended with him fumbling the ball into the endzone, accounting for the second of Auburn’s four first-half turnovers.

The Tigers went in a different direction to begin the second half as Payton Thorne stepped back in to play quarterback.

Following a sloppy drive to begin the third quarter that ended with a poorly designed fake punt that resulted in Oscar Chapman being brought down well short of the first down marker, Kayin Lee picked off Arkansas’ Taylen Green for the Tigers’ second interception of the day.

The Tigers went three-and-out on the possession that followed, squandering away another opportunity they had to shift the momentum to their side.

Auburn finally managed to capitalize on a scoring chance as Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith with a 52-yard pass to set the Tigers up inside Arkansas' 10-yard line. Thorne connected with Lambert-Smith for the Tigers’ first score of the day two plays later to knot the score at seven.

Arkansas responded with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Green to Isaiah Sategna to quickly reclaim the lead. Cam Coleman bobbled a pass from Thorne that resulted in an Arkansas interception in response. This led to a 43-yard field goal for the Razorbacks to put Auburn down by two scores with 12:04 left in the game.

The Tigers punched back with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Lambert-Smith. What happened next? Arkansas drove down the field, 75 yards, and added seven more points to the board.

Miscue after miscue. Blown chance after blown chance. That was the story of the game today.

Auburn returns to action next Saturday to take on the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30/3:15 p.m. CT. The broadcast information is to be announced.