Auburn Beats Arkansas – Post-Game Interviews

Auburn Beats Arkansas by the final score of 35-14

Audio of player and Bret Bielema interviews are below

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas football team (3-6, 0-5 SEC) fell to Auburn 35-17 on Senior Night Saturday inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The final on-campus home game of the season, Arkansas honored its 20-member senior class in a ceremony before the game. Senior Kiero Small scored his second touchdown of the season, while Keon Hatcher added a score through the air and Zach Hocker converted a field goal in the loss.

Korliss Marshall sparked a 14-point swing for Arkansas in the third quarter, as the freshman returned a kickoff 87 yards to set the Razorbacks up in the red zone. Marshall’s return marked the longest by a Razorback since Dennis Johnson had a 98-yard return Nov. 5, 2011, against South Carolina.

“As we all know, Korliss Marshall can run,” Bielema said of the play. “He’s explosive and he brings energy. His potential is off the charts. He takes a lot of pride in what he’s doing.”

Brandon Allen ensured Marshall’s efforts were not wasted, connecting with Hatcher on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Allen finished the night 10-for-22 with 112 yards, while Hatcher led all receivers with four catches for 50 yards.

The Razorbacks reached the red zone once again to begin the fourth quarter. Following a fourth-down conversion, Small scored on a run from 2 yards out to cut the Auburn lead to 28-17 with just over 14 minutes left in the game.

Tre Mason responded for the Tigers (8-1, 4-1 SEC) on the ensuing drive, scoring his fourth rushing touchdown of the night and putting the game out of reach.

Arkansas opened the game with an impressive 13-play, 61-yard drive and marched all the way down the field to the Auburn 14-yard line, but saw the drive end in a turnover after a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage was intercepted. The Razorbacks reached the red zone again in the second quarter, but were stopped short of the end zone on a fourth-down attempt.

Hocker scored the first points for UA in the second quarter, drilling a 34-yard field goal after the team drove 58 yards in 12 plays. The senior also added a pair of PATs, giving him 163 in his career and moving himself into seventh place on the SEC career PATs made list.

“With three games remaining, I see so many positive things,” Coach Bielema said. “There are so many positive things going on right now. It doesn’t pop out to people that aren’t in the program every day. We’re learning how to run the football better and we’re learning to do things better in the passing game.”

Jonathan Williams ran for 104 yards on 15 carries, recording his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Counterpart Alex Collins added 92 yards of his own on the ground.

Williams notes in the interview below that Auburn seemed to play with more confidence this year and “that something we’re going to have to start doing, too.”

Arkansas heads to Oxford, Miss., next weekend for a road matchup with Ole Miss on Nov. 9. Kickoff is set for 11:21 a.m. and the game will be televised nationally on SEC TV.

Below are interviews with head football coach Bret Bielema and Razorback football players Jonathan Williams, Travis Swanson, Chris Smith and Keon Hatcher.

First, Bret Bielema:

Jonathan Williams, who embodied the phrase, ad campaign, slogan and fight song lyric “Never Yield” with his efforts in the game:

Travis Swanson:

Chris Smith:

Keon Hatcher: