It would be a strange feeling for Jackson Arnold’s parents, Todd and Sharon, to don navy blue and burnt orange instead of the Sooners’ colors, which they draped last year. “But it won’t feel odd being back in the stadium…Again, this is his journey and I’m just there to support it,” Todd said per On3 Sports’ George Stoia III. Although Jackson made a fresh start at Auburn, after the mechanics that failed him at Oklahoma, his father spills a surprising, blunt ‘Auburn Truth.” TL;DR: Auburn was never the plan.

Last year, on Sept. 21, the then Oklahoma QB Arnold faced his ‘lowest moment of his life’ after he was benched against Tennessee. Oklahoma’s offense had become a mess. Injuries plagued the roster all year-round. Center Branson Hickman was on the sidelines, owing to an ankle injury, missing seven games. The rest of the offensive machinery couldn’t tear through the defenses. But the burnt was faced by Jackson Arnold. It was week 4. The Sooners were going against the Vols, and Arnold was benched. He completed barely seven passes for his minus-21 yards. He was sacked once and recorded two fumbles.

Although he made a comeback weeks later, against South Carolina, he took over as the starting quarterback. But “unfortunately, he didn’t see a future at Oklahoma,” Stoia wrote on X. And then came the reality: Auburn was never on the cards; it was a “change of venue,” Arnold told the Montgomery Advisor. “It’s a move that we never thought we would ever entertain,” Todd Arnold said, “but then it becomes out of necessity, if you truly feel he needed to get out of there. He just needed a new venue.”

Hugh Freeze checked off Jackson’s laundry list. A quarterback coach with playing experience, an offensive-minded coach, and a stacked locker room. Freeze had already built his reputation leading the offense and needed a new starter after Payton Thorne exhausted his eligibility. To stage his comeback and get rid of the hot seat status, Hugh Freeze found his calling in Jackson Arnold.

His getting benched fuelled the simmering emotions in the Arnold family. “That stuff’s tough,” Todd Arnold told the Montgomery Advertiser. “Because your supporting cast around you is banged up, or they’re out for the season, which happened a lot. It was just one of those unfortunate things that the dominoes just started falling.” But at Auburn, Jackson is rewriting his narrative.

Moving on, after an upsetting 5-7 record, the Auburn Tigers are staging a comeback. A 3-0 streak, and Freeze is a cautious, merry bunch. “Happy to be 3-0; We’ve got to get off the field more on third and long.” Saturday will witness more than a deafening Memorial Stadium, jam-packed with fans draped in crimson, navy, and burnt orange. It will decide the Tigers’ future.

Can Auburn make it to the playoffs?

“Freeze is in the danger of becoming the first Auburn coach to post three losing records since 1948-50,” USA Today’s Paul Myerberg’s biting words hung in the air during preseason. But as it appears, Hugh Freeze is treading cautiously as he cradles his $20.3 million hot seat and has logged in a successful 3-0 streak in the past weeks. His words, “I truly believe Auburn will be in the mix for the CFP,” are gaining more weight with the analysts tilting the scales in his favor. The Three Man Front podcast mulls it over.

Can Auburn potentially be a college football playoff team? “You win in Oklahoma on Saturday, and that conversation is real in my opinion,” says Patt Smith. Landrum Roberts added to the argument. “If they (Auburn) beat Oklahoma on the road, that definitely changes things for me. I think that this team in particular, that kind of win, even though you’ve had one against Baylor, now you’re going to do it against a top 10 opponent, a dynamic player, and going in a true SEC.”

The offseason saw Jackson Arnold land at Auburn, while Brent Venables found his new star in John Mateer. Both of them are going strong, with 3-0 into the season, much to their head coach’s delight, who are cradling hot seats. The weekend’s victory will decide who gets the upper hand. The No.22 Tigers are going against the No. 11 Oklahoma. The Athletic’s David Ubben calls it, ‘the quarterback revenge game. So, what about Auburn’s CFP bid? Can they pull it off?

Looking at the upcoming stretch against Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Georgia, “I think Auburn will be 4-2 after that stretch,” said Conrad Van Order. “Now, if you get this win over Oklahoma, that starts to make me think maybe you’re going to be five and one or even potentially 6-0.”

Moving down the conversation, Charleston Post and Courier’s Scott Hamilton prompted the question. “Are you all buying Auburn stock right now? “To which Landrum Roberts replied. “As far as Yeah, I think that Auburn we definitely think that Auburn is better. I would say right now, I’m maintaining the floor would be eight and four, but everything goes right, maybe 10-2, 11-1.”

Bottom line: If Auburn beats the Sooners, they enter the CFP conversation.