Grading Auburn football's comeback win against Arkansas: Report card

AUBURN — In its first eight games, Auburn football had a glimpse of what it was at its best, certainly when it upset top-ranked Georgia on the road. It found out what it truly looks like at its worst in Game 9, even if it won.

It was a 26-23 victory, as Auburn (5-4, 3-4 SEC) needed a comeback to beat Arkansas (3-6, 1-5), which entered the weekend with a single conference victory.

The comeback was thrilling, but the start was brutal. Here's a look at how we grade it, with a full report card for Auburn's performance against the Razorbacks.

Byrum Brown has magical capabilities, and Auburn's offense is seemingly incapable of rolling early. Both things have been true and remained as such against the Razorbacks, meaning the unit breaks even on the report card.

DJ Durkin's unit clamped down late in several aspects, but it struggled to stop one of the worst offenses in the SEC throughout. If not for the havoc it created, it would've surely been a failure.

For the second consecutive week, Auburn whiffed on a PAT and had a kickoff go out of bounds. That can't happen.

The offense looked like an entirely different team after halftime, but now nine games into this season and Alex Golesh's coaching staff still hasn't found an answer for persistent problems.

Auburn football final grade vs Arkansas : D

What happened against LSU and Ole Miss had at least one excuse, as Auburn was facing two uber-talented, successful squads. That wasn't present with the Razorbacks, even if Auburn secured the victory, casting a shadow on the result.

Look at our Auburn football vs Arkansas photo gallery, top images

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter . To support Adam's work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser .