NORMAN, Okla. -- Auburn coach Hugh Freeze called Oklahoma "one of the better pass-rushing teams in the country" after the 11th-ranked Sooners swarmed former quarterback Jackson Arnold and rode a record-setting defensive line performance to a 24-17 win over the No. 22 Tigers on Saturday.
Arnold, a former five-star recruit who started nine games at Oklahoma in 2024, was a central storyline in the Week 4 SEC opener. The Sooners commemorated his return by sacking Arnold 10 times, setting a school record in a statement performance that lifted Oklahoma to 4-0 and handed the Tigers their first loss of the season.
Sophomore Jayden Jackson (2.5 sacks) led a group of seven Oklahoma defenders who accounted for at least one sack. Edge rusher R Mason Thomas, who missed the first half following a Week 3 targeting ejection, capped the display when he chased down Arnold for a safety with 1:06 left in the game, stymying Auburn on a potential go-ahead drive in the closing minutes.
"Their physicality, their ability to get off blocks and knock people back was something else today," Sooners coach Brent Venables said of his defensive line unit afterward.
Arnold was welcomed back to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with boos and pregame jeers from the Sooners' student section. He finished 21-of-32 for 220 yards and a passing touchdown in his fourth game with the Tigers, but spent the majority of game avoiding an Oklahoma pass rush that pressured Arnold on 46% of his dropbacks on Saturday, according to ESPN Insights.
The performance marked only the fourth time in the past 40 seasons that an SEC defense has recorded 10 or more sacks in a conference game. Arnold, who was sacked eight times on two occasions with the Sooners last fall, is only the sixth SEC quarterback to be sacked nine-plus times in a league game since 1996 and the first since former Mississippi State passer Dak Presscott in 2015.
"He's got amazing courage and toughness," Venables said of Arnold. "He's going to have plenty of amazing days. He had some amazing moments today -- some great moments today. He's still just a baby. All of his best days were in front of him...I'm just glad at the right time we made the plays on him that we needed to."
Oklahoma spent the offseason before Venables' fourth campaign in charge of the Sooners emphasizing the importance of its presence on the defensive line following a 6-7 start to life in the SEC last fall. On Saturday, the fruits of those efforts broke through in a big way.
Despite seven first-half sacks, Oklahoma entered halftime knotted with Auburn at 10-10 following Arnold's two-yard touchdown throw to Cam Coleman with 1:08 remaining before the break. The Tigers took their first lead of the game with 7:08 left in regulation before Sooners quarterback Mateer restored the Oklahoma advantage with a nine-yard rushing touchdown two-and-a-half minutes later, setting the stage for a final flourish from the Sooners' defensive line.
Leading Auburn 22-17 with 2:00 remaining, Oklahoma stuffed the Tigers on three consecutive plays to seal the win. One play after Sooners defender David Stone stuffed Arnold on a run up the middle on second down, Gracen Halton notched Oklahoma's ninth sack of the game and Thomas followed with an end-zone sack to trigger a game-clinching safety.
"The people in the stands know they're going to pass the ball. We know they're going to pass the ball. Our coaching staff knows they're going to pass the ball. A mom watching on television knows they're going to pass the ball," Thomas said of the final sequence. "You have pass rushers on the field and we know he's going to hold the ball, in a sense, because [Arnold is] down. That's what set up those sacks."
Still unbeaten, Oklahoma enters its Week 5 open date boasting a defensive line that has emerged as one of the nation's deepest and most productive units over the opening month of the season. After closing the win, Thomas was asked what Saturday's performance said about what the Sooners and its pass-rushing unit can ultimately do this fall.
"There's no ceiling," Thomas said. "That's all it says."
