Hugh Freeze had enough confidence in his quarterback Jackson Arnold entering the season, even though he was surrounded by plenty of doubts. Freeze has had many chances to be outspoken about this confidence in Arnold, but the QB seemed to be waiting for the right time to express his gratitude.
So first, Arnold led Auburn to a 2-0 start to the 2025 season, delivering phenomenal performances with an outstanding display of his skills in both games.
Then came the reciprocation. In his post-game conference after routing Ball State in a 42-3 victory, the QB opened up on how being on the same page as his head coach has benefited him and the whole team..
"I think going into fall camp and going into the season, I really felt like we've been on the same level for just about everything," Arnold said. "Going into the game, whether it's tonight, taking the easy ones, throwing hitches, or whether it's certain reads I need to check out of."
"The first touchdown of the night for Cobb was a play that we checked out of, and Cobb had a huge play. Little things like that, in just being on the same page of what Coach Freeze wants from the offense and what looks he wants to run plays into, are just super beneficial for us so far this year."
Fans had their suspicions when Freeze initially shared his play-calling plans for the season. However, it seems to be working out well for the Tigers as they have already taken down two of their 12 opponents.
Their offensive units, especially WR and RB, look menacing. So does the whole of their defense. Whatever semblance of doubts were remaining about their QB situation were silenced by Arnold's performance both days.
Only if the Tigers can manage to continue this production against their SEC rivals, then they may have a shot at making the college football playoffs.