Auburn Tigers fail miserably in one critical way that cost them the game against Texas A&M as Jackson Arnold falls short again
Hugh Freeze has to find a way to fix Jackson Arnold because nothing is working
Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers just dropped their second straight game to kick off SEC play 0-2 as they lost to the Texas A&M Aggies 16-10 on Saturday. Last week, the loss to Oklahoma was all about Jackson Arnold’s complete ineptitude against pass rush pressure–taking ten sacks–and all 13 penalties that cost them in critical moments.
This time it’s still very much a Jackson Arnold problem, but Auburn’s miserable failure in one critical spot is even worse than any fan could have possibly imagined coming into the season. The Auburn Tigers somehow failed to convert a single third down against Texas A&M on Saturday. Over a dozen attempts. Zero third down conversions.
If this doesn’t change, Hugh Freeze might need to make a change at quarterback.
Jackson Arnold and Auburn Tigers fail to convert a single 3rd down against Texas A&M
Auburn struggled across the board on offense all day long against Texas A&M, but the failures on third down are what really sealed the deal for their loss. It wasn’t all on Jackson Arnold either, but when it comes down to it, the quarterback must be able to convert when he has the amount of talent at wide receiver that Auburn has in 2025.
Yes, the average remaining distance to convert on third downs for Auburn on Saturday was around 10 yards per attempt, largely because the ground game was an abject failure as well. But not once? Not one third down conversion?
The failures began more obviously adding up as Auburn still had just 3 points and virtually nothing going for them as the third quarter came to a close. They were still down 10 points with no hope in sight as they failed to convert their 10th third down conversion in a row.
Then when Auburn finally got a break on a tipped screen pass that they ran back to the Aggies’ three-yard line, the offense was finally able to punch it in with a Jackson Arnold rushing score, but that was the only touchdown on the day.
Texas A&M eventually managed to put three more points up on the board, extending their lead to 16-10, but Auburn’s defense did their job well. They got the momentum-flipping interception. They limited big plays outside of just two plays in the run game. Keldric Faulk and the defensive line corralled Marcel Reed, sacking him several times, never allowing his legs to cause much damage. The offense just completely failed at every turn.
Even when the game was on the line at the very end, Auburn finally got a 3rd and manageable (just 1 yard to go) and they failed twice in a row. On 3rd and 1, Jackson Arnold just threw a dirt ball in the general direction of Cam Coleman. Then on 4th down Arnold took a game-ending sack in the most predictable fashion ever.
Hugh Freeze needs to take a good long look at his quarterback room and consider making a change after two embarrassing weeks of failure in a row. Auburn’s defense is too good. The wide receivers are too talented. Jackson Arnold is wasting everybody’s hard work and time. Zero third down conversions? Three yards per pass attempt? Less than 2.5 yards per play from Arnold personally? This is unimaginably awful play for any quarterback at any level. Hopefully coach Freeze can magically turn Arnold around. If not, he needs to give another quarterback a shot who can actually convert a third down.
We’ll be back with more Auburn Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
