"I didn't want to be denied, so that's why I dove," said Robinson, whose 13-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter made the difference in No. 25 Auburn's 21-19 victory over Arkansas Saturday.
The Tigers' defense made Robinson's acrobatic play stick, picking off two passes in the final two minutes from hobbled backup quarterback Zak Clark.
Auburn (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) also got big plays, big days and big mistakes from quarterback Ben Leard and tailback Rudi Johnson. Leard was 19-of-30 for 240 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off twice.
Johnson rushed 29 times for 114 yards and a TD, but his fumble late in the fourth was negated only by Rodney Crayton's interception on the next play.
"We are just trying so hard to make a play," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. "It seems like sometimes at the end of the game when you have to make a play, the ball gets a little smaller and bad things happen."
They certainly happened to the Razorbacks (4-3, 1-3), who have lost 3-of-4 games and eight straight SEC road contests.
Clark entered after Robby Hampton went down with a sprained right shoulder early in the fourth quarter on a failed fourth-down play. Hampton was 19-of-34 for 163 yards.
"There was no doubt if Hampton plays we win," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "I think Auburn was very fortunate today."
Clark, who sprained an ankle in his debut against South Carolina two weeks ago, started off well.
His 41-yard pass to Fred Talley set up a first-and-goal from the Auburn 9. A short run and two incompletions forced the Razorbacks to settle for Brennan O'Donohoe's 24-yard field goal with 4:20 left. Clark finished 1-of-7.
The Tigers went three-and-out, but three plays later, Clark's pass was picked off by Stanford Simmons. Johnson's fumble gave them the ball right back with 1:43 left at the Auburn 34. The next play was an interception by Crayton.
"That goes to show you've got to believe in your teammates," Johnson said, "and they came through."
Unable to run the clock out, Auburn took a safety on fourth down with three seconds left. Arkansas couldn't return the free kick to midfield despite a handoff and lateral, and the clock ran out.
Talley, starting for the first time at tailback, rushed for 161 yards and a TD on 26 carries. He entered the game with 160 yards on the season.
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH FINAL
--- --- --- --- -----
Arkansas 0 14 0 5 19
Auburn 0 14 7 0 21
Second Quarter
Aub-Carter 37 pass from Leard (Duval kick), 10:23.
Ark-Talley 80 run (O'Donohoe kick), 10:04.
Aub-Johnson 23 run (Duval kick), 2:26.
Ark-Holmes 7 run (O'Donohoe kick), :29.
Third Quarter
Aub-Robinson 13 run (Duval kick), 1:39.
Fourth Quarter
Ark-FG O'Donohoe 24, 4:20.
Ark-Safety, Duval ran out of end zone, :03.
Ark Aub
--- ---
First downs 16 18
Rushes-yards 29-166 39-113
Passing 204 240
Comp-Att-Int 20-42-3 19-30-2
Return Yards 52 67
Punts-Avg. 6-49.0 7-39.4
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-35 7-46
Time of Possession 26:05 33:55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Arkansas, Talley 26-161, Holmes 3-5. Auburn, Johnson
29-114, Robinson 2-15, Evans 3-9, Leard 1-0, team 4-(minus 25).
PASSING-Arkansas, Hampton 19-34-0-163, Clark 1-7-2-41, Butler
0-1-1-0. Auburn, Leard 19-30-2-240.
RECEIVING-Arkansas, Snowden 6-32, Hamilton 4-65, Williams 4-47,
Smith 3-19, Talley 1-41, Daily 1-3, Harris 1-(minus 3). Auburn,
Worthy 5-68, Carter 4-76, Willis 4-67, McIntyre 3-17, Diamond
2-11, Johnson 1-1.
A-83,642.