Arkansas hands No. 17 Auburn 1st loss of season

Published Oct. 10, 2009 11:58 p.m. ET

foxsports

Chris Todd flipped a short screen pass to Mario Fannin, and Arkansas' Jerico Nelson was ready. He hit Fannin immediately for a 4-yard loss.

The 17th-ranked Tigers - and their fast-paced, powerful offense - had been stopped in their tracks.

Michael Smith rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown, and the Razorbacks held off a late Auburn rally to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season, 44-23 Saturday. Arkansas - which gave up 52 points on this field less than a month ago - shut down Auburn for most of the game.

"We weren't going to play soft with these guys," Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.