Dominant. It’s the best word to describe Auburn’s performance against Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Tigers beat the Razorbacks 48-10 on Saturday evening.

The win pushed Auburn’s record to 6-4 and 3-4 in the SEC. After losing four straight games to begin SEC play, Auburn responded by winning three in a row and with the victory over Arkansas, clinched a berth in a bowl game after missing one last season.

In doing so, Auburn was more than convincing. It was, by far, the most complete performance of the season.

It’s the type of showing that leads to a report card which will easily put Auburn on the honor roll. In fact, Auburn got straight As. Let’s break down why.

Offense: A

Auburn had 517 yards of offense. That included 354 yards on the ground and 6.4 yards per carry. Yes, you read that number right.

As head coach Hugh Freeze said, this was the best the offensive line has played all season. The stat sheet shows it. Quarterback Payton Thorne was sacked once all day. He had 163 passing yards and 88 rushing yards.

Running back Jarquez Hunter went over 100 yards for the third straight game.

Auburn scored 21 points within the first nine minutes — though seven of those came from the special teams — and scored points on seven of its first 10 drives of the game.

The Tigers moved the ball as efficiently as they have all season. Auburn had 6.8 yards per play. Freeze made sure to note Auburn averaged more than seven yards on first downs.

Auburn converted seven of the 12 third downs it faced. And, of course, it scored 48 points.

It’s as good as Auburn could have possibly asked for. This offense is clicking at the right time. While the competition has been lesser during this winning streak, Auburn has not scraped by. It’s played its best offense of the season and put it together consecutively in a streak that doesn’t appear like a fluke.

Freeze adding more of his own involvement to this offense has made a significant difference for the better. The only reason this grade isn’t an A+ was Thorne’s poor decision which led to a first-quarter interception. It was the only serious blemish.

Defense: A+

At some point, talking about how well this defense has played might get old. But this is going to go down as one of its best showings of an already great year.

But let’s start with Jalen McLeod in this one. He fits the same word that can describe this day: dominant.

It was so good that after the game, linebacker Eugene Asante came into the media room and made a point of physically pointing out on the printed stats sheet exactly how incredible McLeod’s performance was.

He led Auburn with nine tackles including four for loss. He forced a fumble and maybe more notably, he had three sacks. Arkansas could not block him.

As a team, Auburn had five sacks and eight tackles for loss. DJ James was excellent at cornerback for a second straight week. He had three pass breakups in the win.

Auburn didn’t allow Arkansas to pick up a first down until the second quarter. The only points Auburn let up in the first half came after forcing a three-and-out when Arkansas was already in field goal range when it got the ball due to the Thorne interception. Arkansas didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. Arkansas was 1-12 on third downs. Auburn allowed just 3.8 yards per carry on Arkansas rushing attempts.

Pick a stat, and Auburn’s defense was great in it.

Special Teams: A+

Alex McPherson remained perfect for the season making a 39 and a 31-yard field goal in the game.

The biggest special teams play came from cornerback Keionte Scott, who returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. It was the second score of Auburn’s three touchdowns in the first nine minutes and the moment where Auburn believes it silenced the Arkansas crowd and propelled what wound up as a rout.

After the game, Freeze said he had challenged Scott in the morning before the game to make an “elite” play. He sure did that.

Coaching: A

As has been the case all season, defensive coordinator Ron Roberts drew up an excellent game plan. His role this season has seemed underrated with so much talk about the offense all year, but he has been one of the most valuable members of this program. He’s a key in why this defense has been so good.

But, yes, we’re gonna focus on the offense a bit more. Freeze talked after the game about his heavier involvement in the offense. He said he wish he “put his foot down sooner.” Auburn fans sure wish he had.

The offense has looked so much better during this winning streak. It’s clear coaching has been a significant factor in this change. And if Freeze adding his own voice more prominently led to this improvement, then it’s equally a criticism of offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery holding the team back as it is a compliment of a coaching adjustment.

Auburn has played its best games of the season with the least quarterback rotation. It’s played a faster, more up-tempo offense that is clearly littered with Freeze’s fingerprints.

Overall: A

Auburn accomplished so many markers in this game it had failed to all season.

It played well in a road game against a crowd that was predominantly against Auburn. Tigers players noted this was a true road game compared to the feel of Vanderbilt last week or even the win at Cal back in September.

Auburn put together a complete performance with great play in all three phases.

Auburn started fast, and cruised to the finish without adding any unnecessary stress.

And, Auburn is going to a bowl game. It’s going to be hard for Auburn to top this performance.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]