Oklahoma head coach and defensive coordinator Brent Venables has never been more prepared to face an opposing quarterback than he will be on Saturday. That’s a scary thought for those on the other sideline.
Former OU quarterback Jackson Arnold will return to Norman when the No. 22 Auburn Tigers visit the No. 11 Sooners at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday. Even after disappointing as the Sooners’ QB1 last season, Arnold has been good enough for Auburn through three games to generate a little early Heisman buzz, but it will be nearly impossible to produce at that level against his former coach’s defense.
Sooners have advantage over Jackson Arnold
Arnold has averaged 231 yards of total offense in three games so far. As most OU fans already know, Arnold is a dual-threat QB who relies more on his legs than his arm to make things happen. He exploded for 137 rushing yards on 16 attempts in his debut against Baylor.
In Auburn’s last two games, though, Arnold has rushed for only five and 50 yards, respectively, as the Tigers tried to get their passing game going against weak opponents. But even against the likes of Ball State and South Alabama, Arnold never surpassed 300 passing yards and has thrown four touchdowns total, three of which came in the same game. He has the same amount of rushing TDs.
Still having a stagnant passing attack, Auburn will likely use Arnold like it did against Baylor, or similar to how Joe Jon Finley used Arnold for OU down the stretch last season.
The Sooners had no deep passing game last year with Arnold back there. Some of the blame could be put on horrendous pass blocking and lackluster receiver talent, but now, Arnold’s spray chart at Auburn is nearly identical to what it was at OU.
So not only is Venables preparing for a familiar player, that player is being used the same way.
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze already admitted that the Sooners’ defense makes him sick, but against Freeze’s offense, Venables’ defense will have more advantages than it’s ever had before. And OU already had the second-best passing defense in the country, allowing just 84.7 yards a game. The Sooners also rank fourth in total defense.
Venables knows the quarterback inside and out. The Sooners also have the benefit of being at home in front of a crowd at Memorial Stadium that will do all it can to make sure Arnold’s return isn’t welcoming. There’s also that added emotion and pressure of returning to where it all started for Arnold.
It’s not a knock on Arnold or what he can do the rest of his career, but his return is the Sooners’ greatest advantage on Saturday.
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