Some of the headlines coming out of AU's 24-17 loss to OU on Saturday focused on Jackson Arnold's failed homecoming in Norman. The former Oklahoma quarterback was sacked 10 times by a program-record-setting Sooners defense and came away with a loss in front of a hostile Gaylord Memorial crowd that still had hard feelings about his exit last December.
Auburn Tigers On SI's Dre Gaines took a pessimistic view on the performance, claiming that the team now understands how far behind Arnold is in the passing game relative to where he should be in Hugh Freeze, Derrick Nix, and Kent Austin's offense.
"The lights appeared too bright for Jackson Arnold in his return to Norman. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold passed for 220 yards and one touchdown. Jackson Arnold was sacked 10 times this game, often holding the ball for way too long and not deciding in time," Gaines wrote.
"The Auburn rushing attack was essentially non-existent throughout the game, minus a few breakaway plays. The Auburn offense rushed for a total of 67 yards. The Auburn offense came into this game averaging 242 rushing yards per game, but was completely bottled up by the Sooner defense.
"The Auburn offensive play calling did allow Arnold to have more pass attempts than in the first three games, but it led to Arnold showing that his decision-making is not quite where it needs to be at this point in the season."
Arnold's performance (21/32 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown) wasn't bad by any stretch. Most Tiger fans would've begged for this over the last two years against a defense at the level of Brent Venables' Sooners.
But it was, for him, a failure. Arnold downplayed the game beforehand, but there is an obvious gamesmanship with Venables that he didn't just get the better of. That there were chances to win in the fourth quarter and he didn't will haunt Arnold for the next week at the very least, and likely long after that.
That might end up making this loss a turning point for Arnold and an Auburn squad that'll likely be relegated back to the unranked realm.
If it's not, Freeze has some difficult weeks and months ahead.