Jackson Arnold compares Iron Bowl to Red River Rivalry, reveals Auburn bans red from facility

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold departed the program this offseason and transferred to Auburn to play for head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

Along with staying in the SEC, Arnold transferred from one great rivalry to another. Although he did not play in the 2024 edition of the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas, he will now get an opportunity to play in the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn.

The Denton, TX discussed similarities between the rivalries at this week’s SEC Media Days, along with revealing a facility rule pertaining to Alabama red.

“Honestly, OU/Texas there’s a lot of hate,” Arnold started. “But like, I think the people here CANNOT stand Alabama. It’s unbelievable. OU/Texas is very similar though, it’s not far off. I feel like those are probably the two best rivalries in college football. But if you mention Alabama here they’ll look at you funny.

“We even have a rule that you can’t wear red in our facility at all. If you do, you lose points and have to do up-downs and stuff.”

The Iron Bowl and the Red River Rivalry have often been lauded as two of the nation’s greatest rivalry games, along with “The Game” between Michigan and Ohio State. Alabama leads the series against Auburn all-time 51-37, while Texas leads the Red River Rivalry 64-51.

Arnold reveals no animosity towards Oklahoma

Arnold played in 10 games for Oklahoma last season, where he passed for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. The Sooners were just 5-5 in games he played in. He missed three games last season, including the game against Texas, Auburn and Navy (Armed Forces Bowl).

As a member of the Auburn program, Arnold will get a chance to play against his former team on Sep. 20. He however revealed that there will be no animosity towards the Sooners.

“Yeah, it’ll be a fun game. Extremely excited for that one,” said Arnold. “And, you know, no animosity whatsoever. I just think it’s going to be a fun environment to go and play. I really enjoyed playing in that stadium.

“I mean, for whatever reason, you know, I just didn’t play good. Things happen. Things happen for a reason…Sometimes things work out the way it’s supposed to be. You know, we’re on God’s timing, you know, not our timing. And, for me, I felt the best decision for me was to move on and move on somewhere else to get a fresh start, like you said, and go out and do what I know I can do with this Auburn squad this year.”