FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' mostly struggling defense and Auburn's mostly struggling offense each have improved just in time to test each other's improvement.
Bret Bielema's 17th-ranked Razorbacks (5-2 overall, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) faces Gus Malzahn's No. 21 Tigers (4-2, 2-1) at 5 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.
Arkansas sports the higher ranking but Las Vegas oddsmakers mostly have rated Auburn a 10-point favorite.
Their Auburn favoritism seems based both on the home-field advantage of 87,500-plus capacity Jordan-Hare and an defense that has held five opponents between 7 and 19 points. They compare an Auburn 29-16 SEC West loss to undefeated and sixth-ranked Texas A&M Sept. 17 with Arkansas' 45-24 loss to the Aggies a week later. Even the unbeaten, No. 4-ranked Clemson Tigers couldn't score 20 on Auburn in a 19-13 game.
So, Arkansas' optimism with the Razorbacks impressively balancing 429 yards (200 running and 229 passing) on then-No. 12 Ole Miss last week is tempered with meeting an Auburn defense alleged to be up to the caliber of A&M and even top-ranked Alabama.
"I compare them to Alabama," Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith said. "Very physical. Very handsy."
Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, a former linebacker at Tennessee and then a former Tennessee assistant and Baylor head coach, has coordinated defenses at Clemson and Alabama (pre Nick Saban), returned to Alabama in 2014 to be Saban's linebackers coach and coordinated LSU's defense in 2015 and moved to Auburn this season.
"Kevin Steele and that defense are really performing at a high level," Bielema said. "They have really good players performing extremely well and extremely smart."
Steele has coordinated a much better Auburn defense than the heralded Will Muschamp, the current South Carolina head coach and past Florida head coach and a former national-champion defensive coordinator at LSU and Texas, directed last year at Auburn.
Two games ago, Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos called Alabama a defense without a weakness. This week, he also couldn't conjure a defensive weakness for Auburn.
Bielema and Enos noted Arkansas' offensive confidence soars from beating Ole Miss with Arkansas' running game measuring up to the outstanding passing that junior Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen has exhibited all season.
Arkansas sophomore running back Rawleigh Williams III was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week netting 180 rushing yards on 27 carries against Ole Miss.
Auburn beat LSU 18-13 at home Sept. 24 when both were struggling. LSU coach Les Miles was fired the next day while Auburn started a three-game winning streak.
No coincidence the Auburn winning streak didn't start until Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and 2006 Arkansas defensive coordinator for Houston Nutt after winning Arkansas high school state championships at Shiloh Christian and Springdale, quit playing Auburn quarterbacks roulette.
John Franklin and Jeremy Johnson, his two fastest quarterbacks, were benched and junior Sean White installed to start.
White's 92 of 132 for 1,187 yards and a SEC-leading 69.7 percent completion percentage, should capture attention.
"It all starts with him," Bielema said.
Malzahn was known for his uptempo passing offenses at Springdale and Shiloh Christian but usually has Auburn among the SEC rushing leaders while still emphasizing the pace of his no-huddle offense "as fast as humanly possible," Bielema said.
Bielema and Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said the Hogs must adjust and reassemble faster between plays at Auburn than they sometimes did against Ole Miss in Fayetteville.
Sports on 10/22/2016