Nursing a sore throwing shoulder, Nick Marshall didn’t attempt a pass in practice this week until Thursday.
Two days later Auburn’s junior quarterback didn’t attempt many either.
Marshall had only eight pass attempts, completing seven for 118 yards, in Saturday’s 35-17 win over host Arkansas, but only his 88-yard touchdown to sophomore Sammie Coates was a true downfield pass.
“There’s something to be said if you don’t know your quarterback is going to play,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “There was a lot of stress that went into that. … He’s a tough guy. Nick Marshall’s a tough guy, and we’re very proud of him.”
Marshall injured his shoulder in the first quarter of last week’s 45-10 win over Florida Atlantic when he lowered his shoulder to lay a hit on an Owls defensive back on a 9-yard run out of bounds.
“I wasn’t too worried about it because if you think about it you’ll probably hurt it again, so I just put it in the back of my mind and just played,” Marshall said after he combined for 177 yards of offense Saturday despite a nagging injury that limited him in practice this week.
Six of Marshall’s pass completions were little more than short dump-off passes to receivers or running backs on or around the line of scrimmage.
“It was really all coach Malzahn, he was just taking what the defense gave us and we just ran what he called,” Marshall said.
Linebacker steps up: JaViere Mitchell saw three kickers and knew something was up.
But when the ball bounced right to the third-string weakside linebacker at the Arkansas 43-yard line, he did all he was asked to do and fell on it.
“Yeah that was a surprise to all of us,” Mitchell said of his onside-kick recovery 2:08 into the second quarter. “They kind of gave it away with three kickers, but our coaches put us in a position to address it accordingly.”
The try came immediately after the Razorbacks registered their first points since the South Carolina game, a span of eight quarters, when kicker Zach Hocker nailed a 34-yard field goal with 12:52 to play in the second quarter.
Mitchell entered again in a goal-line formation on Arkansas’ next series after the Razorbacks moved the ball to Auburn’s 1-yard line on 15 plays.
Backed into third-and-goal from the 1, Mitchell crowded the line and didn’t let Arkansas gain another yard.
Mitchell made back-to-back defensive stops on runs by Jonathan Williams, including a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-goal to force a turnover on downs.
“I’m just happy to step up when my team needs me, no matter how big or little the play is,” Mitchell said.
Ford suffers knee bruise: Dee Ford didn't leave the field Saturday of his own accord.
Auburn’s senior defensive end suffered what he described as a “bruise” to his left knee after he was caught in the middle of a scrum on the game’s second-to-last play when Arkansas running back Alex Collins fumbled. Ryan White forced the fumble following an 8-yard run to the Razorbacks 34-yard line during which defensive tackle Gabe Wright came up with the football.
On the next play, Marshall ended the game in the victory formation.
Immediately afterward, Ford was lifted off the ground and carried to the visiting locker room by fellow defensive ends LaDarius Owens and Carl Lawson as he favored his left knee.
“They fumbled the ball, and I kinda got a good, you know … a lot of people were diving for the ball, so I got caught up in there,” Ford said. “It’s just a little bruise, we’re all good.”
Ford was able to walk to the team bus after meeting with reporters following the game.
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