Transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold had 137 of Auburn’s 307 rushing yards while scoring two touchdowns, Rayshawn Pleasant returned a kickoff 98 yards and the Tigers beat Baylor 38-24 on Friday night, opening the season in a true road game for the first time since 2002.
Arnold, who played for Oklahoma the previous two seasons, had six runs of at least 10 yards. He put the Tigers ahead to stay with a 24-yard TD that capped a 96-yard drive in the first quarter, and added a 27-yarder on a fourth-and-1 play with 4:32 left.
That nearly length-of-the field Auburn drive was set up by a fourth-down incompletion by Sawyer Robertson, who finished 27-of-48 passing for 419 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his TDs came on fourth-down plays, to wide-open Alabama transfer Kobe Prentice (33 yards) and true freshman running back Caiden Knighten (10 yards).