What they're saying nationally about Auburn's 41-27 loss to Arkansas

Bryan Harsin talked often this year about stacking W’s; it’s part of his 1-0 mantra, the idea being to accumulate victories in all aspects, step by step, day by day. The only thing Auburn has been stacking of late, though, has been L’s.

Auburn dropped its fourth game in a row Saturday, this time a 41-27 beatdown at the hands of Arkansas. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Tigers against the Razorbacks, and it dropped Auburn to two games below .500 for the first time in a decade. Harsin’s team, the embattled second-year coach said, wasn’t good enough and simply got beat, physically, by Sam Pittman’s program.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn’s defensive decline continues in loss to Arkansas

Instant analysis: Auburn throttled by Arkansas for fourth consecutive loss

Grading Auburn’s 41-27 loss to Arkansas

The loss likely brings Auburn to what has been a steadily-building crossroads, particularly when paired with Saturday’s other development: the university working to finalize a deal to name Mississippi State’s John Cohen as Auburn’s new athletics director. Once that process is complete, clarity could come one way or another on the status of Harsin, who is now just 9-12 as the Tigers’ head coach after Saturday’s loss to the Razorbacks.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at what’s being said about the Tigers’ 41-27 loss to the Razorbacks, both in Arkansas and nationally:

— A season that seemed lost well before September has gone just about as expected (USA Today)

— Is hope on the horizon for Auburn football? (The Lede)

— New Auburn AD must deliver right football coach, because it’s not Bryan Harsin (AL.com)

— For Auburn, the horror of rock bottom is here (AL.com)

— Auburn couldn’t stop KJ Jefferson or Raheim Sanders or produce scores on offense when the game was in doubt (The Associated Press)

— Spooky season is in effect, and so is Arkansas’ troll game (ESPN)

— Instead of being caught up in the Auburn dumpster fire, Bo Nix is tearing it up at Oregon (CBS Sports)

— Hogs blow past Auburn to snap long series losing streak (Whole Hog Sports)

— Arkansas bucked its own third-quarter trend to crush Auburn (Southwest Times Record)

— Hogs win convincingly to break skid against Tigers (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

[embedded content]