Auburn opened its 2025 college football season in style, going on the road to Waco, Texas, and taking down Big 12-member Baylor in the Bears' home stadium.
The rushing attack by the Tigers was the difference as they put up 307 yards on the ground, led by Jackson Arnold's 137 yards and two touchdowns. While the win was a great way to start the season, there were some negatives to look at for Hugh Freeze's squad.
Here are the positives and negatives from Friday night's victory:
POSITIVE: Jackson Arnold
Making his Auburn debut, the quarterback continually showed off his legs, getting out of the pocket when he had to and making plays that moved the chains. It was his 27-yard scamper on 4th-and-1 with 4:32 left that put the game out of reach.
Now, he will have to prove that he can throw the ball as well as defenses start to key on stopping him from running the ball. Still, it was an impressive outing for the quarterback.
NEGATIVE: Auburn's tackling
I don't know how many yards Baylor was able to get after contact, but it seemed like a ton. The Tigers continued to miss tackles, allowing the Bears to gain extra yards.
POSITIVE: Offensive line
Auburn averaged 5.9 yards per rushing attempt, and it seemed at times as if the Tigers couldn't be stopped on the ground. Arnold took advantage of the Bears taking away the passing game, running for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Also a positive? Only one sack allowed.
NEGATIVE: Auburn's secondary
Allowing 419 passing yards against Baylor isn't awful, but it isn't inspiring any confidence in the group. It makes sense, since the Bears all but abandoned the running game, with Sawyer Robertson throwing it 48 times. However, blown coverage on 4th-and-8, allowing Kobe Prentice to get wide open for a touchdown, wasn't exactly great. The secondary is supposed to be one of the better units for the Tigers.
POSITIVE: Auburn's defensive front
Keyron Crawford led the Tigers with seven tackles while also recording a sack and a tackle for a loss. Keldric Faulk was his usual self, putting up a sack, tackle for a loss and a pass broken up to go with four tackles. The defense also kept Baylor to 2.7 yards per rushing attempt.
POSITIVE: Alex McPherson
It was good to see McPherson out there after a trying year-plus. The kicker made all five extra point attempts while also nailing a 21-yard field goal.
NEGATIVE: Punt team
Hudson Kaak was everything we thought he would be, but Auburn's punt team could not get out of its own way. There were two illegal formation calls, plus the interference penalty that gave Baylor 15 extra yards.
POSITIVE: Hugh Freeze
This wasn't a must-win game for the Auburn coach, but starting the season with a loss would not have been ideal, especially with trips to Oklahoma and Texas A&M waiting after two home games. There's been a lot of offseason nonsense about what he does with his free time, so getting a victory under his belt was a way to shut those critics up.