FINAL: Auburn Beats Baylor, 38-24, Behind Arnold's Career Night

That level-headed approach on the ground led to four rushing touchdowns for the Auburn offense, including quarterback Arnold’s first score as a Tiger on his second offensive drive of the game. Arnold took off from 24 yards out, racing away from the Baylor defense on the right side and finding pay dirt.

The next drive would also result in an Auburn score, as Alston capped off a 7-play, 65-yard drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown. Baylor suffered an early injury to star defensive lineman and run stuffer Jackie Marshall, which the Tigers’ offense took heavy advantage of.

"When it was on the line, our offensive line, we just leaned on 'em,” Freeze said.

Meanwhile, the Auburn defense was faced with the task of stopping a Baylor attack that firmly believes in using all four downs to try to pick up the first. The Bears attempted to convert six 4th downs and were successful on three of them. Two of the Auburn stops came on early Baylor drives, including a stop on 4th and Goal that set up the first Auburn scoring drive of the night.

The Baylor offense would finally break into the end zone with under 4 minutes to play in the first half, as quarterback Sawyer Robertson found an uncovered Kobe Prentice on 4th and 8 for a 33-yard touchdown, cutting the Auburn lead to 17-10. No team would score from then until just over 4 minutes remained in the third quarter. At that point, both offenses ignited.

Auburn struck first, mounting a 9-play, 71-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Cobb. Baylor answered immediately with a long scoring march of its own, a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Caden Knighten.

The answer from the Tigers? An instant lightning strike in the form of star return man and Tulane transfer Rayshawn Pleasant, who returned a kick 98 yards. It was the longest kickoff return for Auburn since Tre Mason in 2011.

Baylor answered with a 79-yard scoring drive that ended in a touchdown for Michael Trigg, who took apart the Tigers’ defense all night. Trigg racked up 7 catches for 99 yards, frequently finding himself uncovered over the middle of the field. His lone touchdown would cut the Auburn lead to 31-24, but it would be the final points for the Bears.

Robertson showed why he was a heavy concern for defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, throwing for 419 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. However, the Auburn defense completely shut down the Bears’ rushing attack, holding them to just 64 yards on the ground.

The Tigers put the finishing touches on the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive that ended with Arnold’s first passing touchdown for Auburn, connecting with Wake Forest transfer Horatio Fields for an 8-yard score. Auburn then forced a turnover on downs on Baylor’s next drive, retook possession, and kneeled out the clock to leave Waco with a win in the season opener.

Auburn returns to The Plains in Week 2 for its home opener against the Ball State Cardinals in what should be a much less difficult test for Freeze’s Tigers. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

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