Auburn QB Jackson Arnold takes in pregame atmosphere in return to Oklahoma

Jackson Arnold soaked it all in during his return to Oklahoma pregame Saturday. The Auburn quarterback was warming up, walking around and seeing old teammates, including long snapper Ben Anderson.

Arnold transferred this offseason and now leads an undefeated Auburn team that is ranked No. 22 in the country. But on the flip side, his old team is No. 11, also at 3-0, and has the home field advantage later this afternoon.

Still, it’s a homecoming for Arnold, but he’ll be the enemy for Sooner fans Saturday. You can see the interaction below.

Auburn QB Jackson Arnold takes the field at Oklahoma, his former school. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/5R46ScQFq5

— Auburn Tigers | AL.com (@aldotcomTigers) September 20, 2025

Through three games this season, Arnold has 501 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, a 69.6% completion percentage, 192 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Arnold has eight total touchdowns this season after scoring 15 in 10 games just last season for Oklahoma.

As ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said ahead of the game, Arnold has stepped it up a notch as a dual-threat quarterback this season. It’s early, but the Hugh Freeze effect is real.

“Well, I think that Hugh Freeze, first of all, has kind of rebuilt him,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter. “I think he lost his confidence last year. I think last year, as an offense, Oklahoma lost their top six receivers, they became very predictable. 

“You can see what he’s done running the football. To me, it’s the thing that’s really standing out. You can see his QBR is great. He’s playing much better, playing within the structure of the offense. But this is an offense that’s built on their running game, and he’s a big part of that, to give them that plus-one look for defense staff to contend with. But I would say the first three weeks of the season, this is a great storyline: Jackson Arnold coming back to Norman.”

ESPN’s Jordan Rodgers took it a step further earlier this week. He mentioned how this will be the Arnold revenge tour, beginning in Norman.

“I am just intrigued, so anxious to see Jackson Arnold in what I’m kind of calling the start of his revenge tour,” Rodgers said. “I know Oklahoma fans that feel a certain way about him; that’s totally fine.

“He got a lot of criticism for things that were outside of his control. He also got a lot of criticism because he didn’t play very well. And both things can be true at the same time.”

Oklahoma and Auburn will square off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will air live on ABC.