Saturday’s matchup between the Auburn Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks serves as a key game for head coach Hugh Freeze as speculation of his firing continues to ramp up. As a result, the importance of the Week 9 game has Freeze reconsidering which quarterback on his roster gives him the best chance to come away with what could be a job-saving win.
Freeze has spoken openly about the fact that he would like for Auburn AD John Cohen to come out publicly and ease his mind about the rumors that he may be fired, which has yet to happen.
As a result, some believe that a loss on Saturday could spell the end of Freeze’s three-year tenure at Auburn, which has not gone to plan thus far, putting together just a 14-18 record thus far with the Tigers.
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Ahead of Saturday’s game, Freeze didn’t hold back his concerns about the play of starting quarterback Jackson Arnold as of late, suggesting the team could make a mid-game change and go to Ashton Daniels, the No. 2 quarterback.
“I do think if we start to sputter, you have to see if we can get a spark. That’s kind of where we’re at,” said Freeze.
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Despite seemingly not believing in Arnold entirely, Freeze will likely be giving the former Oklahoma quarterback the first chance at seeing the field against Arkansas. According to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, Arnold is expected to start Saturday’s game.
Clearly, the leash will be very short for Arnold on Saturday. So it will certainly be interesting to see whether he rises to the occasion or whether his struggles continue.
Either way, the loser of Saturday’s game will sit at the very bottom of the SEC standings with a winless conference record. Given the fact that Arkansas already fired their own head coach earlier this season, Freeze could very well be destined for the same fate if he isn’t able to come away with a win in Week 9.
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