Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze knew there was no running away from the glaring offensive blunder Saturday.
Oklahoma had a controversial win, sure, but there is no denying that the Sooners defense put Jackson Arnold on skates with 10 sacks in a single game.
In his press conference Monday, previewing Texas A&M week, Freeze tried to justify the shocking number of sacks on Arnold's behalf.
"There’s five that I don’t think (Jackson Arnold) could do anything about," Freeze said. "There’s five that I think he’s got to trust that our receivers in one-on-ones will protect him and make a play."
Arnold completed just 21 of the 32 passes he made vs. Oklahoma, and finished off with 220 yards and a touchdown.
"So I thought it was dead down the middle, 50-50," Freeze said. "He and I met yesterday, watched everything. Tough environment, tough defense, but we’ve got to trust our guys. Good things happened when he did that, and we’ve just got to continue to work to improve that. Don’t think he could do a whole lot about five of them, but there’s 50 percent that I think the ball’s got to come out."
Being surrounded by a weak offensive line was Arnold's biggest holdback last season. It will be disastrous for Auburn if the same issue crumbles his performance this season as well.
That said, OU's defense is ranked the best in SEC. Naturally, it was a frying pan into the fire case for the Tigers after their first three opponents.
Arnold still has the remaining SEC slate to prove whether his skills has truly improved. Their next opponents, Texas A&M, will be a perfect place to start.