Payton Thorne runs angry, Auburn football throttles Arkansas for third straight SEC win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Auburn football quarterback Payton Thorne has shown off his mobility before.
He ran wild against Samford on Sept. 16, totaling 123 rushing yards on 11 attempts. He also ripped off a 67-yard scamper against Georgia on Sept. 30. His production on the ground through 10 games on the Plains has already eclipsed what he posted over his 25 starts at Michigan State.
But he hadn't quite shown one trait heading into his team's matchup with Arkansas on Saturday: Physicality. He put that on display in Auburn's 48-10 thrashing of coach Sam Pittman's squad in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, as he finished with 88 rushing yards and trucked an Arkansas defensive back into the end zone for the Tigers' first score of the game.
Thorne also completed 60% of his passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. His one big mistake came in the first quarter when a pass intended for Koy Moore was intercepted, but Auburn's defense put the fire out and held Arkansas to a 39-yard field goal.
Those were the only points the Razorbacks (3-7, 1-6 SEC) could muster against Auburn (6-4, 3-4) apart from a garbage-time TD.
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Jarquez Hunter inching closer to 1,000 rushing yards
Thorne and Rivaldo Fairweather shined − the transfer tight end scored two touchdowns to bring his season total to five, which is the most from an Auburn TE since Philip Lutzenkirchen had seven in 2011 − but junior running back Jarquez Hunter excelled in his own right, too.
Hunter registered more than 100 rushing yards for the third straight game. He's currently sitting at 745 yards on the ground with two regular-season games and a bowl remaining.
Jalen McLeod explodes for three sacks
Eight of Arkansas' 13 drives ended in a punt and two resulted in a fumble. Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson made plays sporadically, but Auburn's pass rush popped for five sacks, including three from Jalen McLeod. McLeod's nine tackles led the way. Eugene Asante had eight.
History made for Alex McPherson
Redshirt freshman kicker Alex McPherson connected on both of his fields goals against the Razorbacks, growing his streak of consecutive made FGs to 17. That broke the previous program record of 16 straight, which was courtesy of Daniel Carlson.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football dominates Arkansas for third straight SEC victory
