Ahead of Auburn's matchup with Arkansas, our Christian Clemente chatted with Nikki Chavanelle of HawgBeat.com. Dive in for her assessment of the Tigers-Razorbacks matchup and how she sees things shaking out Saturday in Jordan-Hare.

CC: Arkansas' defense has been strong this year, what are your expectations for that group as a whole in this game?

NC: The defense did look very strong against Mississippi State. They had their number with the 3-man rush, eight in coverage and despite giving up over 300 yards passing, they limited big plays and made big plays themselves. They studied the Miss State film well and knew where to be. They also held up strong against Georgia for a half but got gassed in the second. Sam Pittman and Barry Odom learned from that experience and ended up rotating players in a lot more in game two. Given their familiarity with Chad Morris’s system, I’d expect them to hold up pretty well but with Morris’s propensity to try tricky stuff, they may still give up some big yardage. Getting after that offensive line and putting pressure on Bo Nix is going to be key and I think they’ll be able to get home a few times.

CC: Similarly, the Razorback offense has been improved under Feleipe Franks but has only scored three touchdowns thus far, what do you expect out of them this game?

NC: The offense looked a bit dazed and confused against Georgia, relying a lot on Feleipe Franks to make sure players were in the right spots and executing their assignments. They cleaned that up for week two against Mississippi State but they lost leading rusher Rakeem Boyd and leading receiver Treylon Burks early in the game. Both are a huge part of the game plan and though they were able to adjust to get the win, we’re still waiting to see some solid red zone execution. Franks has a cannon so I expect them to take some deep shots and try once again to get something going in the run game. They need better first and second downs.

CC: Do you believe the players will have added motivation this weekend going up against their former coach in Chad Morris?

NC: No doubt the players are going to be more fired up than they’ve been yet this season, going up against Chad Morris who led the team to back to back 2-10 seasons, a historic low. Many of them probably feel like they weren’t being adequately developed, as witnessed by losses to teams like Western Kentucky, Colorado State, San Jose State and others, and they’re eager to show that the team has a lot more talent than the previous staff showcased.

CC: With Hurricane Delta being in Auburn around the game, how will that impact the Razorbacks gameplan?

NC: The Razorbacks have been working with wet balls all week and the Hogs think a messy, muddy game could work in their favor against the Tigers. Naturally, they’ll want to run the ball a bit more to try to protect it and I think the offensive line has a lot to prove as far as their run blocking goes. Safety Joe Foucha this week shared an anecdote from team meetings with Sam Pittman this week saying, "An eagle, when it's raining and cold, go inside, right? You know a hog, we love that mud and that water, so that's what we're going to be out there Saturday."

CC: Who are some X-Factors on offense and defense for Arkansas?

NC: The offensive leaders Rakeem Boyd and Treylon Burks are questionable, though Sam Pittman said one is more likely to be ready than the other (we’re guessing Burks), but both those players are liable to break off big plays. Stepping up for Burks last week was De’Vion Warren, a slot receiver with speed so watch out for him to get more targets. Defensively, three Razorbacks have accumulated the team’s four picks so look out for safety Joe Foucha, cornerback Montaric Brown (out early last game with an injury but likely back this week) and nickel Greg Brooks Jr.

CC: Game prediction? Who wins and why?

NC: The questionable-to-play Tigers that Auburn may be missing on Saturday have me wondering if Arkansas could pull off another upset against a ranked opponent but I still haven’t seen enough well-executed offense from the Hogs to assume they can score more on Saturday. Arkansas’s defense came armed last week with so much knowledge of what Mike Leach was going to come at them with, allowing them to make big plays, and I’m not sure that’ll be the case this weekend. I’d say Auburn 24, Arkansas 17, Hogs cover the spread.

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