Oklahoma 2025 Football Opponent Preview: Auburn Tigers

In Oklahoma’s first SEC game of the 2025 season, the Sooners will host their former signal caller.

OU’s first conference game is against Auburn, their third home contest in their first four games. Expected to lead the Tigers is Jackson Arnold, who started nine games at quarterback for the Sooners in 2024 before transferring in the offseason.

Here’s what to know about Auburn:

2024 recap

Auburn’s streak of losing seasons extended to four in 2024.

The Tigers finished tied for 13th in the SEC with Oklahoma, going 2-6 in conference games. They went 5-7 overall, missing a bowl game for the second time in three years.

Auburn’s first SEC win came against a Kentucky squad that struggled throughout the season. Later in the season, the Tigers upset Texas A&M at Jordan Hare Stadium. They needed a win against Alabama in the Iron Bowl to reach bowl eligibility but lost 28-14.

Coach Hugh Freeze’s seat has become warmer, now 11-14 in his two-year tenure at Auburn.

Key returners

RB Damari Alston (Sr.), WR Cam Coleman (So.), DL Keldric Faulk (Jr.), DB Kayin Lee (Jr.).

Notable transfer portal additions

QB Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), RB Durell Robinson (UConn), WR Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech), WR Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), OL Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), OL Mason Murphy (USC), DB Raion Strader (Miami OH).

Strengths

The Tigers went through a serious roster overhaul in the offseason, with many of their key players from 2024 either graduating, declaring for the NFL Draft or transferring.

Even so, athleticism and skill will always be a constant for Auburn.

Oklahoma 2025 Schedule Preview

Illinois State Redbirds
Michigan Wolverines
Temple Owls
Auburn Tigers
Kent State Golden Flashes
Texas Longhorns
South Carolina Gamecocks
Ole Miss Rebels
Tennessee Volunteers
Alabama Crimson Tide
Missouri Tigers
LSU Tigers

Weaknesses

Ball control was a struggle for the Tigers last year.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne threw nine picks, with the team total at 13. The Tigers fumbled 15 times, losing nine of them. Thorne was also sacked 26 times in 2024.

With Thorne now graduated, Arnold will likely be the starter. And, as Sooner fans know, he’s had his struggles with ball control, fumbling three times and throwing three interceptions last year.

How do the Tigers match up with OU?

Last year’s game against Auburn will forever be known to Sooner fans as the Michael Hawkins Jr. legacy game.

In his first collegiate start, Hawkins helped OU erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and win 27-21. The quarterback, a true freshman at the time, completed 10 of 15 pass attempts for 161 yards and zero interceptions, also rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown.

The Auburn team that takes the field against OU in 2025 will be much different.

Though Arnold has had his ups and downs as a college quarterback, the Tigers have surrounded him with portal talent, including Fields, Robinson and Singleton. Plus, Auburn returns all five of its starting offensive linemen from 2024, adding two highly touted players — Chaplin and Murphy — to the line from the portal.

Various media outlets are high on the Tigers entering the season.

In ESPN’s Football Power Index, Auburn is ranked No. 14. Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt ranked the Tigers No. 22 in his post-spring rankings.

The biggest question mark for Auburn is the offense, even after a seismic overhaul. There are plenty of playmakers on the roster, but it’s hard to predict whether or not the talent will pan out for the Tigers, as it hasn’t recently.

Arnold is very familiar with Oklahoma’s defenders — but they’re also very familiar with him. That’s the battle to watch in this matchup.