Hugh Freeze hasn’t beaten Alabama football while head coach at Auburn. The Tigers haven’t pulled off an Iron Bowl win since 2019.

However, Freeze brought in someone experienced in taking down the Crimson Tide to play quarterback. Jackson Arnold transferred in from Oklahoma, where he and the Sooners upset Kalen DeBoer’s squad in Norman last season, effectively crushing Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at SEC media days in Atlanta, Arnold was asked what made OU so successful against the Crimson Tide.

“I think for us the biggest success was with the run game,” Arnold said. “Whether it was me running the ball or our running backs running the ball and being effective. I thought we had a really good game plan that week and caught them off guard by running it so much. But I thought we were very aggressive that game, very efficient decision-making.”

Auburn has every chance in the Iron Bowl this season. After a 2025 drubbing in Bryant-Denny Stadium, the game is back in Jordan-Hare, a place the Tigers seem to always be in the game.

It took minor miracles for the Crimson Tide to escape with wins in 2021 and 2023, with the 4th-and-31 prayer from Jalen Milroe to Isaiah Bond securing victory most recently on the Plains. With Arnold in the quarterback spot vacated by Peyton Thorne, he spoke of the importance of winning the Alabama game.

“That’d be awesome,” Arnold said of the chance to break the Crimson Tide’s streak. “All the dudes on the team talked about, even the old fifth-year senior guys still haven’t beaten Alabama. They came close twice but they haven’t beaten them yet, so for those guys, I want to get a win.”

Arnold compared the game to the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry he was previously part of.

“OU-Texas, it’s very similar,” Arnold said. “Honestly, it’s not far off. I feel those two rivalries are probably the two best rivalries in college football. But I feel like if you mention Alabama here, somebody would look at you funny. We even have a rule in our facility, you can’t wear red in our facility at all. If you do, you lose points and you have to do up-downs.”

Alabama and Auburn will renew hostilities on Nov. 29 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.