Auburn Tigers HC Hugh Freeze shares details behind critical benching that led to comeback win over Arkansas Razorbacks
Jackson Arnold had to be benched following his terrible game-changing interception and that saved the Auburn Tigers
The Auburn Tigers offense has been an absolutely embarrassing mess since they began SEC play this year, but they finally put things together in their 33-24 win over Arkansas on Saturday. Hugh Freeze needed a win badly this week if he wanted to preserve any hope of keeping his job as head coach, and that’s exactly what happened.
However, it took finally benching his quarterback to make it happen. Jackson Arnold came into Saturday leading the nation in sacks taken, ranking 93rd in adjusted yards per pass attempt and 111th in touchdown rate. Coach Freeze had discussed in detail this week about getting other quarterbacks involved, but once Arnold threw the pick-six interception it was time for a change. It turned out that’s exactly what Auburn needed to stop their four game losing streak, despite Freeze downplaying that fact after the game.
Auburn Stats Before & After Jackson Arnold Benching
- Auburn Tigers scored just 10 points before Jackson Arnold was benched following his interception against Arkansas
- Ashton Daniels led Auburn on five straight scoring drives to finish the game, but failed to find the end zone
- Jackson Arnold did lead Auburn on two long drives of 67 and 76 yards to start the game, but then only managed 4.2 yards per play on the 12 plays that followed prior to his interception thrown for a touchdown
Hugh Freeze downplayed benching of Jackson Arnold, but it won Auburn the game
There’s no nice way to say it. Jackson Arnold had been playing terrible football for several weeks. The Tigers hadn’t scored over 20 points in any SEC game with him at the helm this season. He couldn’t stop taking sacks. Then his one redeeming quality–ball security–began to fade this week and last, so it was just time for a fresh passer to get a chance. Ashton Daniels didn’t put up crazy numbers when he came in at quarterback, but at least he didn’t throw the pick-six interception that put Auburn down 21-10 early (as you can see in the post below).
Ashton Daniels didn’t put great stats up when he came into the game, but he kept the offense on schedule, minimized mistakes, and created some tough decisions for the defense with his legs. Hugh Freeze was clearly impressed, but tried to downplay Jackson Arnold’s benching out of respect:
“The decision that Jackson made obviously wasn’t a great one. They were in a two-high shell and we were running the football. We’ve got to be smart and take what they give us. Really we had a plan to play [Ashton Daniels] all along. I thought I was going to do it on the third possession, but we were kind of clicking on pretty good. But just thought [Daniels] was going to give us a little poise and a pick-me-up at the time we needed it. Thought he played really solid. We didn’t ask him to do a whole lot in the passing game. But I believe he can do that too.”
Ashton Daniels may have only logged 77 passing yards and 35 rushing yards, but gain, his threat to run, and consistent decision-making did just enough to always get the Tigers into scoring position. That led to Alex McPherson’s incredible six field goal performance and a 33-24 victory over Arkansas.
Coach Freeze tried to avoid admitting what the quarterback situation will look like moving forward, but Auburn fans should likely expect to see much more Daniels moving forward. Arnold was benched for a reason, and likely should have been benched in weeks prior as well. A time share at quarterback isn’t likely optimal for Hugh Freeze if he wants to keep his job, but the team gets Kentucky next week. That might be the perfect testing ground for the true QB1 to step up and prove themselves.
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