Auburn's Jackson Arnold has Been Terrific as Oklahoma Sooners Loom

Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold has led the Auburn Tigers to 3-0, before his well-anticipated return to Norman, Okla., ahead of SEC play

To Auburn fans, Arnold’s start has felt needed, helping reignite the Tiger offense and allowing them to finally find footing. 

Being a force on the ground while being SEC’s lead rusher after week one, Arnold has proven to be dangerous with his legs. But it’s in the air where Arnold has improved from last season. 

Overall, Arnold connected on 63% of his passes, now he’s nearly at 78%. Whether it’s having a talented, deep receiving corps that has allowed Arnold to find a rhythm or his confidence level, he's been making a difference.

Yet, the journey is only beginning. 

Now, Arnold’s off to Owen Field, playing his former school, and a considerably better Oklahoma team. 

If Arnold and his offense want to go head-to-head, they’ve got to dig deeper. 

After handling the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday, coach Hugh Freeze celebrated his team, but still believes there’s more to improve upon.  

“We've got a lot, obviously, to improve on. The goal today was to be 3-0 … 1-0 today and 3-0 headed into conference play. Our team achieved that. We're going to celebrate that and hopefully get some folks healthy, get some rest this weekend and get ready to open conference play,” said Freeze after the game.

Against South Alabama, Arnold was 13-for-24, completing only 54% of his passes. Having a slight dip, Arnold still found a way to win. Rushing for 50 yards and two touchdowns certainly helps. As he goes against his former team, he’ll be getting tested on all fronts that’ll require more quick decision making and reliance on his receivers. 

With the Oklahoma Sooners taking a big first-half loss of defensive lineman R Mason Thomas against Auburn, the Sooner defense still is undoubtedly deep and will be solely focused on stopping Arnold.

For Arnold, that means getting out of those pressure situations and finding any openings that Oklahoma allows, otherwise the momentum will be staying with the Sooners. 

With storylines circling until Saturday on Arnold’s return to Norman, both Freeze and him have shut down the outside noise. 

“There won’t be any noise that bothers me. What bothers me is what I see on tape that we got to go get prepared for to play a road game in this league, which is always difficult against a really good football team. That’s my total focus and finding a plan that gives him a chance and our offense and our defense a chance to have success in that environment against that team,” said Freeze. 

He continued, “So, that’s easy for me, probably harder for Jackson, obviously there’s a lot of emotions and stuff but he’s mature. He knows what it takes to win football games and being emotional about whatever happened in the past is not gonna help us, he knows that. He’ll handle it well I think. ” 

As, Arnold's main focus is how to get better each week. 

“I’m not on social media either so there’s no noise for me. Just worried about going to practice everyday and being the best version of myself, you know off the field and watching tape, watching OU, just locking in and doing my job throughout the week. There’s nothing more than that, it’s a job for us and we go in every day and attack it and make every day my best day,” said Arnold. 

On Saturday, Arnold will be wearing orange and navy when he enters Owen Field again, yet this time, he’s only focused on what he’s beginning to build for Auburn.