Hugh Freeze put trust in his playmaker Jackson Arnold for a critical, game-sealing fourth-quarter 4th-and-1 play against Baylor. Arnold, who had a lot to prove himself, kept the ball with him and sliced through the field straight to the end zone, accounting for a stunning 27-yard game-winning touchdown. It became the highlight of the Tigers' 38-24 win over the Bears.
That's what taking advice from Freeze's rant did for Arnold.
About five days before their season opener, Freeze launched into a whole rant about how turnovers have been damaging the Tigers' records the last two seasons. The need to eliminate them was obvious, and given Arnold's history with them, Freeze started by calling him out first.
"There’s nothing wrong with using your legs," Freeze said, among other things, when emphasizing the need to limit their turnovers this season. "That’s what we’ll continue to work on and continue to coach decision-making at the quarterback position."
That's precisely what Arnold did.
"I didn't expect to run that much," Arnold said in the post-game conference. "But at the same time, I'm going to do what I have to do to figure out how to take what they gave us. I had to swallow my pride a little in the passing game."
Freeze chimed in, saying, "With the receivers we have, that is very difficult for both of us."
Well, Auburn's "Freeze Four" will have plenty of chances to shine in their upcoming games. More so, they will be expected to shine against their upcoming, formidable-looking SEC opponents.
And as for Arnold, he will have to keep up the decision-making he had vs. Baylor to get Auburn the minimum winning record expected from them this season.