Jeremy Johnson opens, Nick Marshall closes as Auburn soars late

AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn offense didn't slow down a bit, even with Nick Marshall a spectator for half the game. Jeremy Johnson passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the first half and Marshall returned from suspension with a 19-yard scoring run to lift No. 6 Auburn to a 45-21 opening victory over Arkansas on Saturday. Plus, Cameron Artis-Payne and junior college transfer D'haquille Williams had huge games. Johnson supplied the big passing numbers but the Tigers seemed to get a spark when the Heisman Trophy candidate Marshall came in after the half. "Nick's our leader," coach Gus Malzahn said, adding that Marshall remains the starter. "All our players respond to him but overall I thought the key in the second half was our defense really stepping up." The Tigers scored the final 24 points after the Razorbacks managed to force a halftime deadlock.