Arkansas vs. Auburn Total Prediction
The Auburn Tigers will look to rebound from their upset loss to LSU last week at home when they host a struggling Arkansas Razorbacks team at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Will Auburn’s offense rebound enough to carry the weight of cashing the over for bettors?
Game Snapshot
369 Arkansas Razorbacks at 370 Auburn Tigers
7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 22, 2018
Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Tigers are 30-point favorites to beat the Razorbacks. The total, meanwhile, sits at 55.5 points. As of this writing, 60% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Tigers.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas redshirt sophomore QB Cole Kelley will be the backup going forward for the Razorbacks. Kelley was downright awful in the 44-17 loss to North Texas, throwing four interceptions and completing just 16-of-35 passes. The sophomore played well the previous week against Colorado State, but there have been just too many turnovers from the 6-foot-7, 258-pound quarterback. Expect to see Kelley get some time in the red zone, but for now, this is Storey’s job.
Auburn Tigers
The Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard believes that Auburn redshirt junior QB Jarrett Stidham’s stock dropped after Saturday’s performance against LSU. It was an ugly performance, to be sure. He struggled with reads and accuracy, and didn’t handle pressure well at all. As Ledyard bluntly puts it: “His pocket presence, progression work, situational awareness, decision-making and field vision were all terribly lacking on Saturday, as Stidham’s lackluster performance was the clear-cut main reason that Auburn came up short in a huge game.” Yes it’s just one game, but it was a big test, and Stidham (6’3/215) came up way short. He’ll need to be much better as the season progresses to be a potential first-round pick.
Betting Trends
Arkansas
The under is 5-2 in the Razorbacks’ last seven road games and 5-2 in their last seven games coming off a double-digit loss at home.
Auburn
The under is 6-1 in the Tigers’ last seven games overall and is 20-8-1 in their last 29 home games.
Prediction
Stidham will rebound from his performance a week ago against LSU because the Razorbacks don’t have the secondary or linebacking corps that the QB saw versus the Tigers. That said, there’s no question there’s something off with Stidham and until he displays the same decision-making and accuracy that he exhibited a year ago, I’m not going to just assume that Auburn will score at will versus any opponent (even Arkansas). Meanwhile, the Arkansas quarterback situation is a horror show. At least head coach Chad Morris has settled on one QB (Storey), but that doesn’t mean things will improve, especially this week as Arkansas takes on a nasty Auburn defense. With both offenses struggling, the under should be a good bet this weekend in Auburn.
College Football Prediction: Arkansas/Auburn under 55.5