Jackson Arnold already showed one critical intangible trait in Auburn’s win over Baylor that he never once showed at Oklahoma
Jackson Arnold and the Auburn Tigers were able to get a huge win on the road against the Baylor Bears.
Auburn and Baylor were able to help kick off Week 1 of the 2025-26 college football season with a bang. Jackson Arnold was able to debut with the Tigers in a way that certainly made him look a bit like the guy we all thought Oklahoma was getting, even if his passing stats aren’t all that great looking in the box score. He did, though, win the game, while also doing what he never did at Oklahoma last season.
But that wasn’t always his fault.
Jackson Arnold took control of the game for Auburn
Last season, the Oklahoma Sooners had one of the worst offenses in the entire country. Sure, Arnold didn’t play the best, but it wasn’t all his fault. The Sooners were without their five best receivers most of the season, and the offensive line dealt with a ton of injuries as well. To add insult to injury, the offensive coordinator was fired halfway through the season due to the bad scheme and playcalling. So, to be fair, Arnold never really got a chance to showcase the version of himself we saw on the field Friday night.
The version I’m referring to is, of course, the intangibles Arnold showed and displayed for the world to see against Baylor. Never once was he able to just tell Oklahoma to get him the ball and get out of the way. Never once was he able to just take over in a game or take control, because the offense was so bad. Against Baylor, he did just that,
“Coach Freeze [head coach Hugh Freeze] just asked me what play I wanted, and I told him, ‘Just give me the ball and let’s run it.’ We did, and we scored,” Arnold told FOX when asked about his epic 4th-down touchdown he scored.
Arnold was just 11/17 through the air, finishing with 108 passing yards, with his completions going for an average of 6.4 yards. So, you could say that his passing game was a bit underwhelming if you didn’t watch the game and only looked at the box score. But Arnold didn’t turn the ball over; he made plays, and he did what the game plan was.
Then you go to the rushing part of his stat line, and you can really get a better look at how helpful he was to the win. Arnold rushed for 137 rushing yards on 16 carries, with two rushing touchdowns. His yards per carry ended at 8.6 on the night, which is almost a first down every time he carried the ball. He is the reason why the offense was working, because he took control and told the coaches that he needed the ball, because that’s what was working. It won’t always be that way, but it was in Week 1.
He didn’t do that once at Oklahoma, so maybe we are about to see a new Jackson Arnold.
