Colby Wooden paused, then sighed. The disappointment in his voice was apparent.

The losses have piled up for Auburn this season, now at four in a row. The latest, though, may have been the most difficult to swallow for the Tigers: It came off the bye week and against a team they have typically handled, and it happened at home — a loss so disparaging that fans headed to the exits in droves by the end of the third quarter.

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“It’s different because we lost at home,” Wooden said. “They really walked in here, put 40 on us, and walked out. I’ve never had them happen in my time here. It’s a difficult thing to digest but you have to look in the mirror. Kudos to them; they were the better team today. Point-blank, period.”

Auburn’s 41-27 loss to Arkansas was just the latest frustrating loss for the Tigers under second-year coach Bryan Harsin, but Wooden was mistaken in one regard; this wasn’t the first time Auburn surrendered 40-plus points in a loss on its home turf. Penn State dropped 41 on Auburn back in September in what was the most lopsided home loss for the program since 2012.

The loss to the Razorbacks was different, though. Maybe because it was in SEC play, so the game carries more weight, and maybe because the Tigers had won six in a row against them entering the week. Whatever it was, the blowout loss to Arkansas — which wasn’t as close as the final 14-point margin indicated — left a struggling Auburn team feeling deflated Saturday afternoon in its own building.

“I think guys are pretty upset today,” tight end John Samuel Shenker said. “This is a game we knew we could have won going into it. Obviously, they outplayed us and outsmarted us, as far as the players are concerned. That’s on the players; that’s not on the coaches. That’s something we’ll have to take into consideration this week.”

Auburn’s defense again laid an egg, even after having the bye week to reset and sort out some of its issues. Arkansas ran for 284 yards and four against one of the nation’s worst run defenses, averaging 6 yards per carry and forcing a multitude of missed tackles, which have plagued the Tigers’ defense throughout the year.

KJ Jefferson and Rashod Dubinion each ran for two touchdowns, while SEC leading rusher Raheim Sanders ran for 171 yards on 16 carries, averaging 10.7 yards per touch against the Tigers.

“It’s tough,” edge defender Derick Hall said. “Just losing in general. It’s not really about this game. It’s just about the work that we put in all week, and (then to) put up a performance like that — it wasn’t the things that we executed in practice. So, you’re going to have to just figure out how to execute it in practice and roll it over into the game. That’s what hurts me the most. Because I know these guys, and they truly care.

“They truly want to win. And when you go out and perform like that, it doesn’t speak to who this team is. I mean, that hurts a lot.”

Auburn’s defensive decline continued against Arkansas, which overshadowed an offense that showed some progress—though still struggled to finish drives. Auburn racked up 468 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per play Saturday, and it scored more than two touchdowns at home for the first time since the San Jose State game in Week 2.

Given, some of that came in garbage time, as the Tigers put up two late touchdowns — including one to cut the final margin to 14 with four seconds left in the game — to avoid what would have been the most lopsided loss to the Razorbacks in series history.

“We executed too late, when it was just too late,” quarterback Robby Ashford said. “I mean, end of the day, like I said, all three phases, we just got to play our part, do what we know to do, and do what we’re coached to do. We had a good week of practice. We felt good coming into this game. So, it just sucks. I mean, every loss hurts.”

Ashford turned in his best performance of the season, completing 24-of-33 passes (72.7 percent) for 285 yards and a touchdown, with another 87 yards rushing. He also avoided any turnovers, as Auburn’s offense played a relatively clean game, even as it struggled to take advantage of some early opportunities.

In the end, it wasn’t enough, as the Tigers fell two games below .500 (3-5 overall, 1-4 in SEC play) for the first time since 2012 and head into the final month of the season on a four-game losing streak. Both Ashford and Hall echoed similar refrains that adequately summed things up: It sucks, and Auburn’s locker room is hurting—but the Tigers haven’t lost hope; they’re still determined to bounce back as best they can.

“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Harsin said after a long pause. “We’re just not— we’re not good enough. That’s just what it comes down to…. We got to be better, and we need a lot more action than just hope and wanting to.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.