Auburn Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks Betting Preview
Both the Auburn Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks come into Week 7 in a tough spot. Auburn took their medicine in a 34-10 loss to new #1 Georgia last week, while #17 Arkansas lost their second in a row being outlasted 52-51 at Ole Miss.
Sportsbooks have their work cut out for them in creating betting lines for this matchup, but ultimately BetOnline and Bovada are in consensus in making the Razorbacks -3.5 favorites due largely in part to being at home. Don’t discount Auburn, though, as their two losses have come against #1 UGA as well as #7 Penn State.
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Auburn Moving On From Last Week
If you’re Auburn, you really can’t dwell on the 24-point Georgia loss even as +14.5 underdogs in online betting. The Tigers got just 217 yards passing from Bo Nix in that matchup and had a mere 46 yards on the ground on 29 carries, but that’s going to happen vs. the #1 defense in the country.
What the Tigers need to do is put the Arkansas loss in the rearview and try to get the upset in Fayetteville for the nice +150 payout for the outright win in moneyline betting. Auburn won in LSU 24-19 in week three as +3 point underdogs and lost just 28-20 at Penn State in week five as +4 point’ dogs.
The Tigers have played ranked teams on the road well this NCAAF season, and now they get to go to #17 Arkansas on Saturday. Auburn won this matchup just 30-28 at home last year, even as -13.5 favorites and when the Tigers were ranked #13 in the nation.
Tank Bigsby ran for 146 yards vs. the ‘Hogs last season and is off to a pretty solid start in 2021 with 458 yards on the ground with five TDs in six games. Bigsby has a solid cohort in the backfield in Jarquez Hunter, who has run for 465 yards, and Arkansas has the 3rd worst rush defense in the SEC, allowing 192.1 ypg.
Razorbacks Try to Stay Ranked
Somewhat surprisingly, Auburn fell from #18 to out of the Top 25 after their loss to Georgia last week. #17 Arkansas might see a similar fate if they were to lose against the Tigers this week, as it would be their third straight defeat.
The Razorbacks have faced a gauntlet this season, beating Texas 40-21 when they were #15, topping Texas A&M 20-10, who was ranked #7 at the time, and getting the prescribed beating from #2 Georgia 37-0 to bring the ‘Hogs back to reality a bit. The Bulldogs easily covered the -16.5 betting line in that game.
Arkansas’ most recent defeat came 52-51 at #17 Ole Miss as the Razorbacks’ 2-point conversion as time expired sent them to the loss. The 51 points and 676 yards of total offense are nice for Arkansas’ offense, but allowing 52 points and allowing 611 yards to the Rebels isn’t great.
Auburn ran for 259 yards in last year’s 2-point home win against the Razorbacks, and that will be the formula the Tigers will try to follow on Saturday. The Tigers also have the 4th best scoring defense in the SEC, so can Arkansas find similar success in this matchup even without Feleipe Franks’ 4 TD passes from a year ago? The -3.5 betting lines would suggest so.
Auburn at Arkansas Pick
The Razorbacks gave up a ton of yards last week but is that because their defense is bad or because the Ole Miss offense is pretty darn good?
Auburn will get a lot of public play in this one, especially with the hook of the -3.5 at the sportsbook, but the Razorbacks have answered every question they’ve faced this year (except for the Georgia blowout loss).
Pick: Arkansas -3.5