For the second straight game, Auburn receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the Tigers in receiving with 156 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. His 156-yard output is a career-best, beating his old personal record of 124 yards that he earned in Penn State’s Rose Bowl win over Utah in 2023.

Lambert leads the team in receiving with 338 yards and five touchdowns on 12 receptions.

On Saturday, Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter failed to reach the century mark in rushing for the third time in four games. A season that was supposed to be one of personal historical significance for Hunter has yet to take off due to Auburn’s struggles on offense.

Hunter, who has rushed for 340 yards through three games, has surpassed last season’s total through three games by nearly 200 yards and remains on pace to reach 1,000 yards for the season, but you have to feel Hunter’s frustration as his production has not reached the level that he had hoped near the halfway point of the season.

Auburn’s defensive backs needed a great game on Saturday vs. Arkansas, and went on to play its best game of the season to this point. Auburn’s defense, who allowed 242.7 yards passing per game entering the game, allowed just 151 yards passing on Saturday. Jerrin Thompson and Kayin Lee led the unit by making 13 stops with an interception and a tackle for loss. Redshirt freshman Sylvester Smith also pulled down his first career interception in the loss. Champ Anthony also had a productive game by breaking up three passes and recording a quarterback hurry. However, his day ended early after sustaining a lower body injury in the 1st quarter.

If a team holds advantages in total yards, passing yards, and yards per play, it is usually a safe indicator that said team wins the game, right? That was not the case for Auburn, as the Tigers led several major offensive categories but lost by 10 points. Several factors that led to Auburn’s lack of scoring included a negative turnover margin, losing the time of possession battle, being sacked six times, and only reaching the red zone once.

There remains plenty for Auburn to clean up as their gauntlet of SEC games begins to heat up.

Linebackers have been an area of concern, according to us at Auburn Wire, and Saturday’s game showed that the unit may be moving in the right direction. The trio of Dorian Mausi, Jalen McLeod, and Austin Keys combined to record 19 tackles on Saturday with two sacks and three tackles for loss. Eugene Asante, who made just three tackles in the game, was credited with four quarterback hurries.

Freeze will head back to the drawing board this week to find the best option at quarterback ahead of Auburn’s critical game with Oklahoma on Saturday. Hank Brown proved Saturday that he is not ready for SEC play by throwing three first-half interceptions and connecting on just 54% of his passes. Payton Thorne played a solid game in the second half, but consistency remains an issue when looking at long-term options.

Following the game, Freeze told the media that he will be “locked in” this week when trying to find the right person to lead the offense vs. Oklahoma. Who will it be?