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Nov 9, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Jayden Gibson (1) throws a pass against Missouri Tigers linebacker Chuck Hicks (30) during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Lesson Jackson Arnold, Hugh Freeze Hope to Take from Losses at Mizzou

Originally posted on Missouri Tigers on SI
By Joey Van Zummeren | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 4:48 PM ET

Both Jackson Arnold and Hugh Freeze know all too well what it's like to be stunned by the Missouri Tigers in the closing seconds of a game.

They're looking to avoid a similar fate when taking on Missouri again this season with Auburn.

"Last year was huge for me, being in close games," Arnold, now the quarterback at Auburn, said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "And even not pulling them out, like the Missouri game — That was a close game that we didn't pull out."

Arnold was the quarterback at Oklahoma last season, a year he called "not ideal whatsoever." Those struggles were perhaps best stated in a November loss to Missouri. While the Tigers were without starting quarterback Brady Cook, who was dealing with an injury, the Missouri defense gave Arnold plenty of trouble.

"They're defense was very good last year, caused us a lot of problems," Arnold said of Missouri. "We had them until the end of the game."

Arnold completed 15 of his 24 pass attempts against Missouri for just 74 yards. With a minute left and the game tied at 23, Arnold looked to deliver the Sooners to a road win. Three plays later, he experienced the loudest moment at Faurot Field all season — Linebacker Triston Newson knocked the ball out of his hands, leading edge rusher Zion Young to take the ball for a game-winning touchdown.

Now with a new team with what should be a better supporting cast, Arnold is hoping to turn losses like that into growth.

"For me, being in those environments — especially the hostile environments — and not having things going our way, just learning from our mistakes and my mistakes in those games, and really applying that experience and that leadership for this upcoming year will be big for us in close games," Arnold said.

Three weeks before Arnold's loss at Faurot Field, Freeze and Auburn played at Missouri when MU was without its starting quarterback. Until Cook went from the hospital to back to the sidelines to lead Missouri to a 11-point comeback in the final minute of the fourth quarter after Auburn led since the 11:12 mark of the second quarter.

Close games were a struggle for Auburn throughout all of last season, finishing 1-3 in one-score games. This year, Freeze believes being able to turn around its execution in those close games will be crucial to contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

"I truly believe that in the playoff run we're going to be in this discussion because I love this team," Freeze said in his press conference Tuesday.

When Missouri plays Auburn again this year, it will instead be at Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn. Missouri has only played there once — a close game in 2022 that is seared in the minds of Missouri's fans. Auburn won 17-14 in overtime after Harrison Mevis missed a kick at the end of regulation and Nate Peat fumbled just before crossing the goal-line in overtime.

"Playing at Jordan-Hare is a definite advantage," Freeze said.

That loss was emblematic of the 2022 season, where Missouri kept finding new ways to shoot itself in the foot. That season, Missouri finished 2-4 in one-score games. However, in the last two seasons, Missouri has formed an identity out of being able to miraculously pull out close wins, just like those Arnold and Freeze fell victim to in 2024. The Tigers have gone 10-2 in one-score games since 2023.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has attributed this ability to the team's connection.

"I think it's belief in each other, belief in what we're doing," Drinkwitz said after the team's 27-24 win over Iowa in the 2024 Music City Bowl. "We prepare really hard for these moments."

Missouri will have to work to re-establish that connection in 2025, with the glue of that team chemistry — Cook, Luther Burden III, Theo Wease Jr., and Johnny Walker Jr. — all leaving the program.

Whether for revenge or to show what he's learned since the last matchup, Arnold is looking forward to taking on Missouri again.

"That will be another fun team to go against this year," Arnold said.

If the game in Week 8 is anything like Freeze or Arnold's previous run ins with Missouri, "fun" will prove to be an understatement.

This article first appeared on Missouri Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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