For Auburn, the Southeastern Conference opener against Arkansas was an opportunity to find an identity and perhaps change the team’s reputation before conference play.

Instead, the opposite happened: They lost to the Razorbacks 24-14, raising even more questions about the team’s direction.

Here are our findings from the game:

Ball losses kill the Tigers

Auburn still can’t get out of its own situation.

The Tigers entered the game last in the SEC in turnover differential, largely due to their five turnovers against Cal. Saturday’s loss to Arkansas looked like a repeat of the Cal game.

Auburn had an incredible four turnovers in the first half. Three of them were interceptions by Hank Brown and one was a fumble near the goal line by Damari Alston.

The turnover problem is nothing new for Auburn.

Saturday marked the seventh time in the last eight games that Auburn had multiple turnovers, at least since last season.

Auburn took a 173-164 lead over Arkansas in the first half with four turnovers, but still trailed and went into halftime scoreless.

Even with a new quarterback, turnovers continued to occur.

The turnovers came about in almost every way imaginable. A fumble, an interception at the hands of a receiver, interceptions on questionable throws, you name it.

It’s hard to boil down Auburn’s turnover problems to one specific issue, but they remain costly.

It’s almost impossible to beat good teams when you lose the ball as often as Auburn does. And unfortunately, the Tigers still have to play a lot of teams that are better than Arkansas.

There seems to be no answer at QB

When Brown replaced Payton Thorne after the Cal loss, his performance against New Mexico seemed to end any controversy surrounding the quarterback position.

This idea did not last long.

After throwing three interceptions in the first half against Arkansas, Brown was benched and Thorne returned to start the second half.

The move didn’t provide much of a boost to the offense, however. Thorne began the half completing 2 of 8 passes and showed the same inconsistency he showed when he was a full-time starter.

Thorne had his moments. A touchdown drive capped off with a touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith seemed to be the beginning of a turnaround in the game.

It wasn’t. And four plays into the next drive, Auburn had its fifth turnover of the game.

Thorne had the better day overall of the two, but still didn’t show much that would change people’s minds.

The defense was good but could not finish

Auburn was able to stay in the game despite its turnovers, largely because Arkansas had similar difficulties holding onto the ball.

While the Razorbacks had fewer turnovers, the offense as a whole struggled to be consistently successful. Even in Auburn’s first half with four turnovers, the Tigers went into halftime with a lead in total yardage.

Auburn continually rattled Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, even causing him to be benched briefly in the third quarter. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin continually ratcheted up the pressure, which often affected Green.

The performance was still far from perfect. Arkansas’ first two touchdowns were all avoidable.

The Razorbacks’ 15-play first-half touchdown drive was sparked by an unnecessary roughness penalty on an early third down attempt that would have resulted in a stop. In the third quarter, Green threw a 58-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-19 that saw coverage break down as Green escaped the pocket.

Third downs were what broke Auburn’s defensive backs. Often it was due to penalties, but sometimes it was due to Green’s running ability and Auburn’s consistent inability to contain him.

Auburn still struggles with mobile quarterbacks, as Green showed throughout the game, but the defense has improved from its disappointing performance against New Mexico.

Peter Rauterkus reports on sports in Auburn for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or send him an email to [email protected]M