Field Level Media
Oct 19, 2019
Bo Nix passed for a season-high three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 11 Auburn cruised to a 51-10 victory over Arkansas in an SEC West matchup Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Tigers (6-1, 3-1 SEC), who improved to 9-0 after an open date under coach Gus Malzahn, ran for 298 yards in their first game without leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow, out with a knee injury.
Nix, who completed 12 of 17 passes for 176 yards, wasn't intercepted but lost a fumble that led to an Arkansas touchdown late in the third quarter. Auburn receiver Seth Williams had a pair of touchdown catches among his four receptions.
Seth Carlson had a 44-yard field goal, but his missed extra point kick after the Tigers' fifth touchdown ended the school's streak of consecutive PATs at 304, an NCAA record established earlier in the game. Florida State held the previous mark of 302 (2012-16).
Ben Hicks was 19 of 39 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown as the Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) lost their 15th consecutive conference game. Tight end Cheyenne O'Grady had seven catches for 72 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown reception.
Auburn scored a pair of touchdowns in less than five minutes to start the game and had two more in a 22-second span late in the third quarter.
Defensive end Marlon Davidson's fumble recovery gave the Tigers a short field to work with on their first series, and Nix capped a 22-yard march with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Running back Cam Martin's 52-yard dash was the big play in a 63-yard drive on the next series with running back Shaun Shivers scoring from 6 yards out.
The Tigers led only 17-0 at the half, and the Razorbacks scored on Conner Limpert's 28-yard field goal on their first series of the third quarter. Nix responded with quick scoring strikes of 48 yards to Williams and 28 to Anthony Schwartz late in the period to put the game out of reach.
--Field Level Media