Auburn soars on special teams
AUBURN | No. 9 Auburn needed a spark Saturday night against Arkansas and the special teams provided it.
A blocked punt and 191 return yards helped the Tigers overcome just 225 yards of total offense in a 34-3 win over Arkansas at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“One of the better special teams performances we’ve had in a while. Just did a super job,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
Noah Igbinoghene provided the biggest play of the game with his 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter that came directly after an Arkansas field goal.
It gave Auburn a 24-3 lead, which was more than enough for a defense that held the Razorbacks to 290 total yards and just 3-of-17 on third downs.
“After that you could breathe a little easier and play football,” Malzahn said. “Noah is a dynamic guy. I think y’all saw that last year. The more opportunities he gets, he has a chance to bring it back. And there were some really good blocks on that play too.”
It was Auburn’s first kick return for a touchdown since Corey Grant did it against Tennessee in 2013.
“I’m just living my dream right now,” Igbinoghene said. “That’s what we’ve been putting our emphasis on. We’ve been wanting to show how important special teams are how they can impact the game, and it was the living example today.”
Ryan Davis added two punt returns for 84 yards. His 48-yard return in the first quarter set up the Tigers on the Arkansas 27-yard line and JaTarvious Whitlow scored a touchdown seven plays later to put AU on top 7-0.
His 36-yard return to the Arkansas 15-yard line late in the fourth quarter set up Anders Carlson for a 43-yard field goal and the final 31-point margin.
Jordyn Peters added a blocked punt in the second quarter, which was scooped up by K.J. Britt and returned 11 yards to the Arkansas 9-yard line, which set up Jarrett Stidham’s 4-yard touchdown run and a 17-0 halftime lead.
The Tigers, which finished 109th nationally in punt return coverage and dead last, 130th, in kickoff coverage, held the Razorbacks to one kickoff return for 20 yards and one punt return for 13 yards.
All six of Carlson’s kickoff went for touchbacks.
“I think we just emphasized special teams a lot and it’s showing that all the stuff we’re doing in practice is showing up on gameday,” Davis said. “It definitely feels good because you see what we’re doing is working. We’ve got to keep doing that and keep working harder to get more results like that.”
Auburn returns to action next Saturday against Southern Miss. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.