Takeaways from Auburn's Road Win Against Arkansas

Jackson Arnold, who’s started every game for the Tigers this season, was removed from the game late in the second quarter after throwing a pick-six. Up until that moment, he’d completed seven passes for 73 yards on 55 percent completion, including a highlight touchdown catch by Cam Coleman.

Ashton Daniels replaced Arnold for the final drive of the first half, looking to elevate the offense that the Oklahoma transfer had left to him. Under Daniels’ watch, the Tigers' offense scored 17 points in the second half, seven better than Arnold’s 10. He completed six passes for 77 yards and was the Tigers’ second-leading rusher, averaging five yards per carry.

Daniels led the Tigers to a second-half comeback, as Arnold’s offense found itself down 21-10 at halftime. He was sacked twice, but his total sack yardage lost was less than half of what Arnold lost on just one sack. Daniels displayed an ability to escape pressure, or at least turn sacks into minimal losses, something the Tigers have been searching for all year. 

The starting job for Auburn’s next matchup against Kentucky is still up in the air, but Daniels certainly made his case to continue his campaign with the Tigers as the starter.

Jeremiah Cobb is Seeing an SEC Workload

A big qualm most Auburn fans have had with head coach Hugh Freeze is the lack of rushing plays throughout the season, despite boasting a powerful running back in Jeremiah Cobb.

Against Arkansas, though, Cobb rushed 28 times, nine more than his previous high on the season, accumulating 153 yards, 32 more than his prior high in 2025. Cobb’s rushing opened up the Tigers’ offense immensely, as his average of 5.5 yards per rush kept the chains moving for the Auburn offense, limiting third downs and coming in clutch on fourth downs. 

What a Pleasant Day it’s Been

In a game where Auburn switched quarterbacks in the middle of the game, the biggest story of the game was still the Auburn defense. In the fourth quarter, clutch time, the Auburn defense came up massive, ending Arkansas drive after Arkansas drive, particularly with interceptions.

Rayshawn Pleasant came up massive for the Tigers late in this matchup, taking a Taylen Green pass back to the house for the Tigers’ first pick-six of the season, following it up two drives later with yet another interception. 

Pleasant wasn’t the only one to step up with an interception late in the game. Kensley Louidor-Faustin picked Green off late in the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Tigers. Louidor-Faustin’s interception came in the following drive to Pleasant’s second interception, marking the third interception in four drives for the Tigers. 

Defensive Dominance

Arkansas, coming into this game, led the SEC in total offensive yards with 507.2. In fact, the Razorbacks’ offensive production had been ranked second in the nation by total offensive yards, but the Auburn defense wasn’t keen on letting that trend continue. 

The Tigers held the Razorbacks to just 331 offensive yards in the game, over 170 fewer than normal for the Hogs. Additionally, the Tigers forced four straight turnovers on the Razorbacks’ final four drives of the game, completely dashing any hopes the Hogs had to earn their first SEC win.

Additionally, the Tigers kept the trend of their defensive dominance alive, limiting the Hogs, who averaged 37 points a game, to just 24 points. The defense has yet to allow a team to score more than 24 in a game, and this week’s point total even includes the pick-six that the defense had no say in.

Xavier Atkins made his case to be the linebacker of the year, or at least the defensive player of the week, this Saturday with a staggering stat line of nine solo tackles, 13 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter. 

Atkins leads the SEC in solo tackles through the Arkansas game with 36, three ahead of LSU’s A.J. Haulcy. 

McPherson’s Comeback 

Alex McPherson struggled immensely last week against Missouri, making just one of his four field goal attempts. The junior, who’s been battling ulcerative colitis since 2024, found it in himself to step up in a big way against Arkansas, drilling all six of his kicks and an extra point for a total of 19 points, more than the offense and defense combined.

Despite McPherson’s struggles last week, Hugh Freeze remained adamant that McPherson was the solution for the Tigers’ kicking struggles. 

“I believe in Alex McPherson,” Freeze said after the loss to Missouri. “He believes in himself. That’s the first time he’s missed any kicks inside the 40-yard line in his career, and he missed two, and that’s just so uncharacteristic of him… Nobody in here doubts him or has any less belief that he’s going to make the next one.”

The Tigers will look to continue their forward momentum this coming Saturday when they head back home to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the struggling Kentucky Wildcats. The game will be played at 6:30 P.M. CDT.

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