Mark Stoops not exactly worried about Auburn's quarterbacks

Auburn finally picked up its first SEC victory against Arkansas on Saturday. After a back-and-forth struggle in Fayetteville that revealed the best and worst of Auburn football, the Tigers are 4-4 (1-4) in 2025.

Hugh Freeze has officially made it to Week 10 on the Plains—but his seat hasn’t cooled. Once again, the third-year head coach faces a win-or-be-fired situation against Kentucky, the worst-ranked program in the SEC. Despite the Tigers’ struggles across the past eight games, Wildcats’ head coach Mark Stoops knows that Auburn’s offense is dangerous.

Auburn is Physical, and Jeremiah Cobb is Great

“They’re four and four, and their losses have been very close,” Stoops said on Monday. “So they’re very close to being a very, very good football team as far as the record goes. But a very big, very physical, very well coached team.”

Much of that physicality comes from running back Jeremiah Cobb. The outstanding junior recorded a season-high 153 yards against the Razorbacks.

“When you see (Jeremiah) Cobb run and the O-line, they're very physical, and he breaks a lot of tackles and is very talented. He has great vision, he has great balance, he has great strength and so he can run through some tackles. To your point, I don't want to be sitting here next week talking about tackling."

The Wildcats’ rushing defense currently ranks 40th in the nation, allowing an average of 132 yards per game. While Cobb might not receive as many snaps due to near-perfect weather—it will be nearly sixty degrees with little wind in Auburn on Saturday evening—controlling the Tigers’ rushing game will be critical for a Wildcat victory.

The Quarterback Situation

Stoops isn’t concerned by Auburn’s up-in-the-air quarterback situation. The Tigers benched Jackson Arnold after he threw a second-quarter pick-six to put the Razorbacks up by 11 points. All seemed hopeless heading into the second half, but the Tigers scored 23 points and won by 9 when Freeze benched Arnold and replaced him with Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels.

“They didn’t change,” Stoops said when asked about Auburn’s quarterback adjustments. “Their offense is going to be their offense.”

Ouch.

“I think both quarterbacks are more than capable of running the ball. Jackson has maybe a little more... top end speed. You can see on tape with the explosive plays that he’s created with carrying the football. And then Ashton is very big and very physical, tough to get down in the pocket. A good runner just in a different way. So, both very, very good players and they have very talented players around them as well.”

Stoops is correct—Arnold has rushed for 270 yards across 106 carries in 2025. The Oklahoma transfer does have dual-threat capabilities. But considering Auburn has only averaged 340 yards and 25 points per game, Freeze’s faith in Arnold has failed to produce results.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 CT in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Despite the building pressure, Mark Stoops might be able to endure another loss and still keep his job. Hugh Freeze, on the other hand, cannot. A fifth in-conference loss would almost certainly end his tenure on the Plains and, with tougher games ahead, could even terminate Auburn’s hunt for a bowl game.