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Losers from Auburn vs Arkansas

What a win for Auburn on the road.

The Tigers needed a confidence boost heading into what is a daunting back half of the season, and they got it on the road in a 38-23 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Auburn’s running game hasn’t been a major factor for three straight games, but the Tigers have gotten it done. Bo Nix had a career day on the road, and had he not thrown the interception at the end of the first half, there would have been a real argument to have been made that this was his best performance in a game that mattered in his career. He just continues to step up even with his receivers dropping passes.

Here are five losers from Auburn’s win over Arkansas… but not all from the Auburn side.

Arkansas' SEC title hopes

AP Photo/Michael Woods

Arkansas would have had to have won out in order to have gotten to Atlanta, but they weren’t able to come away with a win for the third straight week in a row. Their SEC West title hopes are shot after starting the season off 4-0 with a couple of big top 25 wins.

Derek Mason outside of pressure situations

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His unit has struggled this season in a variety of areas, and he couldn’t get his defense off the field on third down today (Arkansas was 10 of 19), but was able to get stops in the fourth quarter with ease when Arkansas really began to get desperate.

Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten

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These two guys were everywhere in this game. Wooten and McClain combined for 25 tackles. Why are they losers? They’ll feel their respective performances in the morning. By virtue of Auburn not having extra linebackers they feel confident in putting out on the field, these two will have to shoulder the load until Pappoe (hopefully) comes back. It’s a tough ask, but they’re getting it done right now.

The eventual AP top 25/National narrative

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I’d be willing to bet good money that Auburn will move back into the top 25, but not where they should be, even though the poll seems to have really valued Arkansas this season.

It feels like a lot of outlets want to go ahead and write off Auburn. Simultaneously, a lot of folks really have enjoyed the feel-good story of Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks in a bounce-back season. I can’t say I blame the media for supporting Arkansas. But this game just proves Auburn has at least mid-tier talent in the SEC and their coaching staff can elevate them to the next level. Arkansas has still has a ways to go.

The offensive line's run blocking

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Is it the o-line? Or is it teams simply keying in on Auburn’s ground game? Regardless, Auburn can’t sustain success through the air like they did today against better defenses… just look at what happened against Georgia. The Tigers need their rushing attack back in a bad way.

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