2025 marked the end of Hugh Freeze at Auburn, but it also might be so for Jackson Arnold as well. The embattled QB came to the Barn looking to escape his Oklahoma troubles. But as the Tigers’ QB1, he once again hauled in a series of disappointments. Even in this remaining stretch under DJ Durkin, Arnold seems to have fallen out of favor.

DJ Durkin named Arnold’s backup, Ashton Daniels, as the starter for the Vanderbilt game this week. When asked about that decision recently, the interim HC said that it was only after a lot of thought. As he pointed out the reasoning, it seemed the staff now looks at Daniels in a better light compared to Arnold. “[I] really just took opinions of the guys on offense. And, you know, it was a lot that went into it, but ultimately we feel really good about it,” Durkin said about the move. Well, he overlooked Jackson Arnold in this conversation.

The interim HC’s most pressing problem at this moment is to control the disaster of an offense. And to do that, he needs to work on bettering the QB position. Arnold struggles with the same issues he faced at Oklahoma, finding it challenging to throw downfield. Plus, he is also a prime sack target for defenses, hauling in an alarming 29. Arnold earned only 1278 yards and has brought only 6 TDs this season. He used to be a mobile QB as well, but even that aspect took a backseat at Auburn. To be fair, rushing in negative against Oklahoma can still be spared. But a -12 on the ground against Kentucky is a huge flaw.

His QB rating crashed to 3.1 in Week 10 from 92.9 in the opener, and that’s how bad the situation is for Jackson Arnold. He struggled to get things going against Arkansas, which led to his benching. Ashton Daniels then took the Auburn to a much-needed win. Auburn will face Vanderbilt this week and will then play Mercer and Alabama. If Daniels proves to be a good QB this Saturday, a split QB1 situation won’t be possible for Arnold in this last stretch of games.

However, as bad as Arnold’s game is, Hugh Freeze cannot escape the blame for it. The QB might simply have insecurities about his talent right now, but at Auburn, he also suffered under terrible calls.

DJ Durkin pushed Hugh Freeze under fire

When Jackson Arnold was struggling at Oklahoma, there were also a lot of attacks on the Sooners’ offense. Brent Venables took the necessary action by firing then-OC Seth Littrell. But Arnold couldn’t get up to par. At Auburn, things were three times as complex thanks to Hugh Freeze splitting play-calling duties with OC Derrick Nix and QB coach Kent Austin. The system took a toll on Jackson Arnold’s performance this year. DJ Durkin might have taken a jab at Hugh Freeze for the same.

At a recent press conference, reporters asked Durkin whether head coaches should call plays for the offense or defense. “I don’t know that it’s the best way to do it in the big scheme of things,” he replied. This aspect proved to be the end for Billy Napier at Florida as well. It’s no surprise that it came for Hugh Freeze as well. His 2025 season is among Auburn’s worst offenses in conference play. This year, the Tigers are averaging only 12.3 points in the SEC.

Hugh Freeze is a factor in Jackson Arnold’s undoing. For example, in the Texas A&M game, Auburn could have run the ball in the last two plays. Instead, Arnold was sacked by the Aggies. The offense became so dreadful under Freeze that it came for him and Arnold both. The troubled QB came to Auburn looking to save his career. But instead, he might be forced to seek another option, after this second chance turned out to be a wasted year for him.