Arkansas answered one heartbreaking loss with one of its toughest performances of the season Saturday evening, grinding out a 38-21 victory over No. 16 Auburn behind the steady leadership and bruising running of quarterback D'Eriq Robinette.
Robinette accounted for 343 total yards and three touchdowns, delivering a gritty performance that repeatedly swung momentum back toward the Razorbacks in a hostile environment at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The Razorbacks struck first on an 8-yard Robinette touchdown run midway through the opening quarter, but Auburn quickly answered when Demarcus Justice broke loose for a 45-yard scoring run. Arkansas regained the lead late in the first on a 24-yard field goal from Joey Christodoulou, though Auburn appeared poised to seize momentum before halftime after John Ridgeway connected with Jeff Spicer for a touchdown with just 38 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Instead, Robinette authored one of the game’s defining moments.
With only seconds left before the break, the Arkansas quarterback calmly marched the offense downfield and fired a 6-yard touchdown strike to Bryan Brant with six seconds left, giving the Razorbacks a 17-14 lead and completely changing the energy heading into halftime. Brant finished with four catches for 62 yards and the score, while Robinette threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-28 passing.
Arkansas then seized total control in the third quarter.
The Razorbacks opened the half with a physical touchdown drive capped by 260 pound fullback Jayrone Calhoun’s 1-yard plunge to extend the lead, then buried Auburn further moments later when Robinette found Brian Browne on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds left in the quarter. The back-to-back Arkansas scores turned a tied game into a 31-14 Razorback advantage and silenced the Auburn crowd.
Robinette’s toughness as a runner became the story of the second half. He rushed for 111 yards on 15 carries, consistently escaping pressure and extending drives with his legs. None were bigger than a gutsy 9-yard scramble on 4th-and-8 late in the fourth quarter after Auburn had cut the deficit to 31-21.
Instead of giving the Tigers one final chance, Robinette lowered his shoulder, fought through contact, and moved the chains in what proved to be the game-clinching play. A minute later, Jaquez Powell punched in a 3-yard touchdown run to officially put the game away. Powell added 77 rushing yards on 12 carries as Arkansas finished with over 230 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Arkansas came up with timely plays throughout the night. Derek Jones recorded seven tackles and a sack, Caesar Whitaker added another sack, and Bart Wilson forced and recovered a critical fumble.
Auburn quarterback John Ridgeway threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, while Demarcus Justice totaled 151 all-purpose yards, but the Tigers were shut out in the third quarter and never fully recovered from Arkansas’ halftime response.
For Arkansas, the victory felt like both a statement and a release after last week’s devastating loss to Ole Miss. This time, Robinette made sure the Razorbacks finished the job.
Scoring
ARK|10|07|14|07|
38
AUB|07|07|00|07|
21
1Q 3:26 TD ARK Robinette 8 Yd run (Christodoulou kick)
1Q 2:44 TD AUB Justice 45 Yd run (Grimes kick)
1Q 0:21 FG ARK Christodoulou 24 Yd FG
2Q 0:38 TD AUB Spicer 7 Yd pass from Ridgeway (Grimes kick)
2Q 0:06 TD ARK Brant 6 Yd pass from Robinette (Christodoulou kick)
3Q 2:56 TD ARK Calhoun 1 Yd run (Christodoulou kick)
3Q 0:31 TD ARK Browne 9 Yd pass from Robinette (Christodoulou kick)
4Q 1:29 TD AUB Chapman 0 Yd run (Grimes kick)
4Q 1:20 TD ARK Powell 3 Yd run (Christodoulou kick)
Key Player Stats

Passing: Robinette 18/28 232Yds 2TD, Rivas III 2/4 24Yds
Rushing: Robinette 15/111 1TD, Powell 12/77 1TD, Long 14/41, Rivas 1/ 4, Calhoun 1/1 1TD
Receiving: Brant 4/62 1TD, Browne 5/57 1TD, Garcia 3/46, Anderson Jr 2/28, Harris 1/26
Tackles: Jones 7, Whitaker 4
Sacks: Jones 1.0, Whitaker 1.0
Takeaways: Wilson 1FF 1FR
Special Teams: Christodoulou 1/1FG 5/5XP, Payne 1Pt 48Yds, Browne 3KR 48Yds 2PR 13Yds, Young 1KR 21Yds

Passing: Ridgeway 18/36 242Yds 1TD
Rushing: Justice 8/79 1TD, Ridgeway 3/11, Chapman 1/1 1TD
Receiving: Hayford 5/103, Justice 6/72, Spicer 3/30 1TD, Marshall 3/25
Tackles: Williams 9, Poole 9
Sacks: N/A
Takeaways: Ellis 1FF
Special Teams: Grimes 3/3XP, Johnson 3Pt 131Yds 39.6Avg, Spicer 2KR 41Yds