Auburn Tigers QB Jackson Arnold Benched in First Half of Arkansas Game

The Auburn Tigers trail Arkansas 21-10 at the half in Fayetteville, and starting quarterback Jackson Arnold has been benched.

Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels entered the game with under a minute remaining in the second quarter after Arnold threw an 89-yard pick-six to extend Arkansas’s lead to 11.

On 2nd-and-8 with a minute to go in the first half on the Arkansas 15-yard line, Arnold targeted Perry Thompson on a short curl route, but a great read and jump on the ball by Razorbacks defensive back Kani Walker returned it for an Arkansas touchdown the other way.

Auburn was averaging 7.5 yards per rush on 8 carries in its last possession moving the ball all the way down to the Arkansas 15-yard line before Freeze/Jackson Arnold decide to pass resulting in a pix-six and a 21-10 Arkansas lead.

HORRIBLE DECISION BY THE QB AND HEAD COACH pic.twitter.com/GwKsALp4VY
— Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) October 25, 2025

Arnold recorded 73 yards on 7-for-12 passing for one touchdown and one interception in his one quarter and some change against the Razorbacks.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as there was a significant amount of talk throughout the week regarding a potential quarterback change. Freeze said in his weekly presser that Arnold and Daniels were going to split reps in practice, but Arnold ultimately remained the starter.

Auburn’s offense moved the ball somewhat well, totaling 212 yards of offense and 14 first downs in the first half. The Tigers also posted 131 rushing yards, including 77 of those from Jeremiah Cobb and 18 from freshman Omar Mabson II.

In Daniels’ first four plays as an Auburn Tiger, he rushed up the middle for nine yards, threw an incomplete pass to Malcolm Simmons, rushed for seven yards, and handed it off to Mabson to close the half.

Auburn receives the ball at the start of the third quarter, and Daniels is expected to go the rest of the way. However, freshman quarterback Deuce Knight is also another option for the Tigers if Daniels disappoints.