TIGERS NOTES:
STORY LINES • Saturday’s game against the Sooners will be Auburn’s first game in the state of Oklahoma in program history, making the Sooner State the 25th different state the Tigers have played in all-time. • Auburn is 52-34-5 in SEC openers all-time: 21-5 at home, 21-23-5 on the road, 10-6 at neutral sites. • Oklahoma is the 13th different opponent the Tigers have opened SEC play against. • Auburn is looking to win its SEC opener for the first time since doing so four straight seasons from 2019-22. However, the Tigers have won 13 of their last 16 SEC openers on the road. • Auburn is 9-11-1 when opening SEC play vs. a ranked team: 4-2 at home, 4-8-1 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites. • The Tigers are opening league play against a ranked opponent for the first time since doing so three straight seasons from 2018-20. Auburn’s next four opponents are ranked in this week’s top 25. • Auburn is looking to open 4-0 for the 33rd time all-time and the first time under head coach Hugh Freeze. • Auburn has scored in a school-record 157 consecutive games dating back to the first game of 2013. • The team has scored 30+ points in each of the first three games (38 at Baylor, 42 vs. Ball State, 31 vs. South Alabama) for the first time since 2009 (37 vs. Louisiana Tech, 49 vs. Mississippi State, 41 vs. West Virginia) • The Tigers rank second in the SEC in rushing defense (67.0 YPG) and third in rushing offense (242.0 YPG), ranking 10th and 16th in FBS in the categories, respectively. Auburn is one of four teams in FBS that rank in the top 20 nationally in both categories (BYU, Navy, Washington). • Auburn is tied for first in the SEC in tackles for loss (26.0) through the first three weeks. • Auburn has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown in the first three games of the season. • The Tigers have recorded 10 rushing touchdowns through the first three games of the season. Auburn had 13 rushing touchdowns throughout all of 2024. • Auburn stands at No. 22 in the AP poll this week and is No. 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. • The Tigers are 336-126-6 all-time as a ranked team, including 197-91-5 as a ranked team against SEC opponents and 74-50-2 as a ranked team in true SEC road games. • Eric Singleton Jr. has a catch in every game of his collegiate career (27 straight). The streak is the 12th longest active streak in FBS and third-longest among players in the SEC. • Auburn’s offensive line has combined for 257 career games played, the most in the SEC. • Auburn is 5-of-5 on 4th down this season, one of four FBS teams perfect on 4th down with at least five attempts. • The Tigers are 9-for-9 with seven TDs in the red zone, one of 18 FBS teams perfect inside the 20.
SERIES HISTORY • Saturday’s game will mark Auburn’s first trip to Norman, Oklahoma in program history. • The Tigers are 0-3 all-time against Oklahoma. The first two meetings came in the Sugar Bowl (1972, 2017) and the third came at home last year. UP NEXT • Auburn continues SEC play with a trip to BryanCollege Station, Texas, to take on No. 10 Texas A&M Saturday, September 27. • The Aggies lead the series, 8-7, while the Tigers are 4-2 in games played in Bryan-College Station. • Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is 4-3 against the Aggies in his career. AMONG THE BEST ON BOTH SIDES • The Tigers rank 2nd in the SEC in rushing defense (67.0 YPG) and 3rd in rushing offense (242.0 YPG), ranking 10th and 16th in FBS in the categories, respectively. • Auburn is one of four FBS teams to rank in the top 20 in both categories, along with BYU, Navy and Washington. DOMINANT ON DEFENSE • Auburn allowed 68 yards of total offense against Ball State, marking the fewest total yards since holding Ole Miss to nine yards in 1985. • The Tigers held the Cardinals to -3 yards rushing, which is the fewest since holding Akron to -3 yards rushing in 2021. • True freshman defensive end Jared Smith’s 3.0 TFL are the most by a SEC first-year player. OKLAHOMA CONNECTION • Auburn starting quarterback Jackson Arnold returns to Oklahoma for the first time since transferring to Auburn in the spring of 2025. • With the Sooners, he passed for 1,421 yards and 12 TD as a sophomore in 2024, playing in 10 games with nine starts.
BACK IN THE POLLS • Auburn moved up to No. 22 in this week’s AP poll. This comes after the Tigers made their first appearance in the national poll last week (No. 24) since being ranked No. 16 on Nov. 7, 2021. • The Tigers come in at No. 24 in this week’s AFCA Coaches Poll. • The Tigers are 336-126-6 as a ranked team, including 197-91-5 as a ranked team against SEC opponents and 74-50-2 as a ranked team in true SEC road games. • The team is 62-55-3 in ranked matchups in SEC play, including 19-34-1 in true SEC road games. • Auburn is looking for its first ranked-vs.-ranked win since defeating Ole Miss 31-20 on Oct. 30, 2021. • The Tigers are 83-81-4 all-time in ranked games (22-40-1 on the road) and last won on the road vs. a top-25 team in 2019 at Texas A&M. • Their last road win over a team ranked as high as No. 11 came in 2014 at Ole Miss.
YEAR THREE UNDER FREEZE • In his two previous stops in which he has reached his third season as a head coach, Freeze has turned in a combined record of 17-9. – 9-4 in 2014 (Ole Miss) – 8-5 in 2021 (Liberty) • After also leading Ole Miss to a 39-24 overall record in five seasons in Oxford from 2012-16, Freeze enters his eighth season as a head coach in the SEC, ranking third among the league’s active head coaches (Mark Stoops, Kentucky: 13th season, Kirby Smart, Georgia: 10th season). SCORING STREAK • Auburn has scored in a school-record 157 consecutive games dating back to the first game of the 2013 season. • The Tigers are averaging 30.13 ppg (4,731 total points) during that stretch. • The streak breaks the previous program record of 149 games set from 1980-92. RUNNING WILD • Auburn has rushed for 726 yards on 125 carries through three games this season, good for 5.81 YPC and the 23rd best clip in FBS, including the third best in the SEC. • The 242 YPG is 3rd in the SEC and 16th in FBS. • The team’s 10 rushing TDs is T-2nd in the SEC. • The Tigers have rushed for 46 first downs on the year the most in the league and fourth most in FBS. WINNING ON THE ROAD • Auburn’s 38 points in the season opener at Baylor were its most points in a road non-conference game since defeating Florida State, 42-41, in 1984. • The win marked the program’s first road win in a season opener since defeating Virginia 28-17 to begin the 1997 season.
SUSTAINED SCORING DRIVES • Half of Auburn’s 20 possessions that have resulted in points this season have been drives of seven or more plays and 50 or more yards. – 12 plays, 96 yards at Baylor (05:33) – 7 plays, 65 yards at Baylor (03:45) – 9 plays, 71 yards at Baylor (04:12) – 12 plays, 75 yards at Baylor (07:16) – 9 plays, 67 yards vs. Ball State (03:14) – 9 plays, 72 yards vs. Ball State (03:36) – 12 plays, 92 yards vs. South Alabama (5:51) – 7 plays, 54 yards vs. South Alabama (2:36) – 14 plays, 75 yards vs. South Alabama (4:44) – 16 plays, 62 yards vs. South Alabama (8:34) REDZONE OFFENSE • Auburn has converted on all nine of its redzone possessions this season, resulting in seven touchdowns and two field goals. • The Tigers are one of 18 teams in FBS to have scored on all of their red zone opportunities through the first three weeks of the season. • A year after finishing last in the SEC in red zone scoring (78.05%), Auburn’s 78% TD (7-for-9) rate ranks 2nd in the league, while Auburn leads the SEC in overall red zone scoring. • The Tigers are averaging a SEC-best 4.5 ypc in the red zone after only managing 1.86 ypc in same area in 2024.
SOONERS NOTES:
OPENING KICK u No. 11/12 Oklahoma (3-0) and No. 22/25 Auburn (3-0) begin their SEC slates when they meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game, the first between the Sooners and Tigers in Norman, will be televised by ABC with Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Molly McGrath announcing. u The 2025 season marks the 131st in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference titles, 27 11-plus-win seasons (tied), 33 AP top-five finishes and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP’s No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, fourth with their 419 NFL Draft picks and fifth with their 58 bowl appearances. u Auburn is one of five Oklahoma opponents playing in Norman for the first time this season. OU already beat Illinois State and Michigan in their Norman debuts in weeks 1 and 2, respectively. The Tigers will mark the Sooners’ 99th all-time opponent at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Ole Miss and LSU will take that number to 101 this season. u SEC Network’s traveling pregame show “SEC Nation” will make its Norman debut on Saturday, broadcasting from the South Oval on OU’s campus. Laura Rutledge will host and be joined by Paul Finebaum, Roman Harper, Jordan Rodgers and Tim Tebow from 9-11 a.m. The “Marty & McGee” show will kick off programming live from 8-9 a.m. u Saturday’s contest will mark the 1,355th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth nationally with their .723 alltime winning percentage (953-348-53 record), trailing Ohio State (.736), Alabama (.733), Michigan (.732) and Notre Dame (.731). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 709 wins (29 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and owns a .766 winning percentage. u A nation-high-tying nine of OU’s 2025 opponents, including all eight SEC foes, are ranked in this week’s AP or coaches top-25 polls: No. 3/4 LSU, No. 8/7 Texas, No. 13/11 Ole Miss, No. 14/14 Alabama, No. 15/15 Tennessee, No. 21/20 Michigan, No. 22/25 Auburn, No. 23/22 Missouri and RV/24 South Carolina. The most AP-ranked teams the Sooners have faced in a regular season is six in 2016.
KEY STORYLINES u OU head coach Brent Venables is 4-0 against Auburn in his coaching career, leading the Sooners to a 27-21 road win last year and posting a 3-0 mark as Clemson’s defensive coordinator (26-19 in 2012 in Atlanta [his first game with CU], 19-13 in 2016 in Auburn and 14-6 in 2017 in Clemson). His OU and Clemson defensive units have held Auburn to an average of 14.8 points and 308.8 yards and have racked up 21 sacks and 45 tackles for loss in the four contests. u Saturday’s game marks the return of former OU quarterback Jackson Arnold to Norman. Arnold, who has started each of Auburn’s first three games this season, played in 17 contests over the previous two campaigns and made 10 starts (nine last season). He completed 63% of his passes for 1,984 yards and 16 TDs (six INTs) as a Sooner, and rushed for 560 yards and four TDs. He did not play in OU’s win at Auburn last season. u While Oklahoma’s offense has been strong through three games (ranks 28th out of 134 teams in yards per game at 472.7), the Sooners’ defense has been other-worldly. OU ranks second nationally in passing defense efficiency (84.7 rating), third in first downs allowed per game (9.0), and fourth in total defense (181.0 ypg), scoring defense (6.3 ppg) and third-down conversion defense (17.1%). It leads the SEC in each of those categories. OU also ranks 19th in tackles for loss per game (8.0) and 34th in rushing defense (96.3 ypg). u Redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer, the nation’s top transfer from last season according to ESPN, is off to a stellar start at OU. He ranks second nationally with his 368.3 yards of total offense per game. u Mateer has registered at least one rushing TD and at least one passing TD in each of his last nine games, good for the longest active streak nationally and tied for the fourth-longest streak since the start of the 2000 season (see chart on page 3). u Arnold (64.0) and Mateer (53.7) rank second and third among SEC quarterbacks in rushing yards per game. Mateer ranks first in passing yards (314.7 ypg) while Arnold ranks 14th (167.0 ypg). u The Sooners have allowed just one rushing touchdown this season (Michigan) and Auburn none. u OU has yet to allow any points in the first or fourth quarters this season. It has allowed just three points in the second quarter and 16 in the third.
OU-AUBURN SERIES HISTORY u Oklahoma and Auburn have met three times, including twice in the Sugar Bowl, and OU has won each game. u In the final game of the 1971 season, Chuck Fairbanks’ No. 3 Sooners downed Ralph Jordan’s No. 5 Tigers 40-22 in the Sugar Bowl in front of 84,031 fans at Tulane Stadium. u In the last game of the 2016 season, Bob Stoops’ No. 7 OU squad prevailed 35-19 over Gus Malzahn’s 17th-ranked Auburn team. Sugar Bowl attendance at the Superdome was 54,077. u Last season in Auburn, Ala., the Sooners posted a 21-18 win (recap in next note).
LAST YEAR VS. AUBURN u Trailing 21-10 with less than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, No. 21/18 Oklahoma scored the final 17 points in a 27-21 win at Auburn on Sept. 28, 2024, for its first-ever SEC victory. u The Sooners scored the go-ahead points when redshirt sophomore linebacker Kip Lewis returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown with 4:06 remaining. Freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. converted the ensuing two-point conversion on an acrobatic dive to put OU ahead 24-21 and redshirt senior kicker Zach Schmit later booted a 39-yard field goal with 54 seconds to go for the game’s final points. u Lewis, who added five tackles, including one for a loss, was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. u Hawkins Jr. became just the seventh OU quarterback to start at least one game as a true freshman and became the first OU true freshman QB to win on the road in his first career start. Hawkins, who ran for a 48-yard score on the Sooners’ first possession, completed 10 of 15 passes for 161 yards and rushed 14 times for 69 yards. He had no turnovers. u Redshirt senior receiver J.J. Hester entered the contest without a reception since the 2022 season but caught three passes for game and career highs of 86 yards. His 60-yard nab in the fourth quarter set up a touchdown that cut Auburn’s lead to 21-16 with 8:32 remaining. u Junior running back Jovantae Barnes carried 18 times for 61 yards and scored on a 2-yard run. u Senior safety Billy Bowman Jr. logged a game-high eight tackles, seven of them solo. Junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas added four tackles, including sacks on back-to-back third- and fourth-down plays totaling 19 yards on Auburn’s first possession after OU went up 24-21. The turnover on downs in Tigers territory led to the Sooners’ final field goal.
