WACO, Texas – Friday Night Lights still treat Jackson Arnold right.
In his Auburn debut, the 2022 national high school player of the year returned to the Lone Star State and led the Tigers to a 38-24 victory over Baylor Friday at McLane Stadium.
Playing two hours south of his hometown in Denton, Texas, Arnold rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns while adding 108 passing yards, securing Auburn’s win with a 27-yard TD rush late in the fourth quarter on fourth down.
“Give Baylor credit, they wouldn’t go away,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “They’re a gritty, mature, tough football team. It says a lot about our grit and toughness to hang in there when we didn’t play our best and find a way to win our opener against what I think is a really good team.”
Arnold averaged 8.6 yards per carry on 16 rushes while completing 11 of 17 passes to pace Auburn’s 307-yard rushing effort.
Leading 17-10 at the half, Auburn doubled its lead on a 70-yard drive with Arnold’s 21-yard run crossing midfield and setting up Jeremiah Cobb’s 2-yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 24-10 with 5:40 remaining in third quarter.
Baylor answered with a 75-yard drive, cutting Auburn’s lead to 24-17 on Sawyer Robertson’s touchdown pass to Caden Knighten on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
Rayshawn Pleasant immediately regained momentum for the visitors, fielding Baylor’s kickoff at Auburn’s 2-yard line outside the right hash mark, cutting to his left and racing 98 yards down the sideline to give the Tigers a 31-17 lead with 35 friends and family members in attendance.
Baylor responded with a 79-yard touchdown drive, again trimming the Tigers’ lead to seven points on Robertson’s third touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to Michael Trigg at the 11:48 of the fourth quarter.
Auburn then consumed more than half of the fourth quarter, putting away the game with a 75-yard, 12-play touchdown drive, with Arnold converting three third downs before beating the Bears at their own game, going for it on fourth-and-1 and scoring on a 27-yard run up the middle for the game’s final score with 4:32 remaining.
“The offensive line put their will on it and dominated the line of scrimmage,” Freeze said. “Jackson was patient and made the right decisions most of the night.”
Baylor took a 3-0 lead on the game’s opening possession on Connor Hawkins 36-yard field goal.
On their second drive, the Bears had first-and-goal at Auburn’s 8-yard line after a 57-yard pass completion, but the Tigers held Baylor to 5 yards on three rushes, then forced an incompletion on fourth down to take over on downs.
Auburn drove 96 yards on 12 plays to take a 7-3 lead with Arnold picking up a first down with a 9-yard run on third-and-7.
Consecutive false start penalties gave Auburn first-and-20, but a 26-yard pass from Arnold to Malcolm Simmons picked up a first down at Baylor’s 37-yard line.
Two plays later, Arnold rushed up the middle behind a block from center Connor Lew and cut to his right for a 24-yard touchdown.
Auburn’s defense recorded a three-and-out, then the Tigers claimed a 14-3 with a run-heavy, seven-play, 65-yard drive that Damari Alston capped with a 9-yard touchdown run at the 10:29 mark of the second quarter.
Auburn’s defense again stopped Baylor on fourth down, giving the Tigers a short field at Baylor’s 44-yard line.
Arnold’s 23-yard pass to Cam Coleman set up Alex McPherson’s 21-yard field goal with 5:45 left in the first half, giving the Tigers 17 consecutive points.
Baylor cut Auburn’s lead to 17-10 at the half with 3:21 to play in the half on Robertson’s 33-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-8.
Keyron Crawford led the Tigers with seven tackles and one of the Tigers’ four sacks in front of thousands of orange-clad Auburn fans in attendance on a sweltering evening.
“They’re incredible,” Freeze said. “The band had to be in 120 degrees and sunshine for an hour before the game in those uniforms. Thank you, and thanks to our incredible fans.”
Auburn (1-0) plays its home opener next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT when Ball State visits Jordan-Hare Stadium for Kickoff on The Plains.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer