Auburn opened year three of the Hugh Freeze era with a statement road win Friday night, beating Baylor 38-24 in Waco.

Not only was it the start of Freeze’s third year, it was also new quarterback Jackson Arnold’s first season at the helm.

Though Auburn struggled to throw the ball consistently, they absolutely gashed the Bears on the ground, and Arnold was a massive reason for that.

After going down 3-0 early, it was the legs of Arnold which were responsible for the Tigers’ first points of the season, as the Oklahoma transfer carried it 24 yards late in the first quarter to give his team the lead:

It was a Damari Alston rush in the second quarter which would increase Auburn’s lead to 14-3 and make it look like they could run away with it:

Towards the end of the first half, former Alabama transfer wide receiver Kobe Prentice made a huge play for Baylor with a long touchdown to cut the lead to one score at the half after an Auburn field goal as well, bringing it to 17-10 at the break.

In the second frame, the two teams traded scores as the Tigers opened up a 14-point lead once again and the Bears pulled it to within seven. A Rayshawn Pleasant kickoff return touchdown though late in the third quarter would silence the stadium and double up the Auburn lead once again:

Baylor would not go away though and pulled within seven once again, and this is when Auburn turned up the pressure on the Baylor defense and converted numerous clutch third downs on the ground to not give the Bears the ball back with a chance to tie the game.

On the biggest play of the night, Arnold once again burst through the line, this time on 4th and 1 for a 27-year touchdown to find the end zone for the second time of the night to put the game on ice:

Arnold finished the game with 16 carries for 137 yards and the two scores, the team’s leading rusher on a night where they ran for over 300 yards as a unit. Alston had 84 yards of his own while Jeremiah Cobb added 74.

Though there is work to do in the passing game as Arnold completed just 11 of 17 for 108 yards, Auburn did not turn it over and did what they had to do in order to win.

It’s a tremendous start to the season and one to build on for the Tigers.