No. 11 Oklahoma outlasts No. 22 Auburn: Sooners break school record with 10 sacks on former QB Jackson Arnold

Oklahoma has logged two wins against ranked teams so far in its 4-0 start, defeating Michigan in Week 2 and then Auburn in Week 4. Among the many common threads between the wins is not only a dominant defensive effort, but also playing in front of a packed house in Norman. 

That home field advantage has proven to be quite significant for Oklahoma in its biggest games. With the win against Auburn, the Sooners are now 9-1 in their last 10 home games against AP ranked teams. Star quarterback John Mateer seems to be at his best in this setting as well, as he's totaled a combined 5 touchdowns to just two interceptions in the wins with 300+ yards of total offense in each game. 

Other notable stats and trends coming out of the game, courtesy of CBS Sports Research: 

• Oklahoma is now 4-0 all-time against Auburn 
• Oklahoma has 2+ wins against AP-ranked teams prior to October for just the third time in program history (1954, 1990)
• Oklahoma is the 1st team with 10+ sacks against an AP-ranked team since 2017. That feat in 2017 was accomplished by Clemson, which was also playing Auburn. 
• Auburn has now lost nine straight road games against AP-ranked teams. The last win came in 2021 against Arkansas.  

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer entered the weekend at the top of the odds board for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, though he was far from the runaway leader. Every week there will be a referendum on how his performance stack up against the other top contenders, which currently includes the likes of Miami quarterback Carson Beck and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. 

Mateer had a solid game in that he was fairly accurate (67%) and did play a role in Oklahoma's only two touchdowns of the day, throwing for one and rushing for the other. But the game itself probably didn't overwhelm anyone as the offense had to settle for field goal attempts three times and the defense really won the day for the Sooners. 

But there was still a moment. It was not necessarily a Heisman moment but a moment that will look good on a highlight reel later in the year. Mateer, with his team down 17-16, stretching out his arms across the goal line for the go-ahead score. It was one of many gutsy runs from Oklahoma's new quarterback, who is settling in nicely as a key piece to a bounce back season for Brent Venables. 

Auburn and Oklahoma both have a chance to make noise -- and potentially contend -- in the SEC because of two elite defenses.

Late in the third quarter, their offenses had combined for only 22 yards: 24 for Oklahoma and minus-2 for the Tigers. Oklahoma's defense had an incredible eight sacks at that time, including 2.5 from breakout tackle Jayden Jackson.

The surprise through three quarters was Auburn's pass defense. The Tigers gave up 400-plus yards in their season opener against Baylor but stepped up, locking down Deion Burks and Co. for most of the afternoon. OU's longest pass was 29 yards to Isaiah Sategna III in the first half.

Breakdowns will happen, and certainly some statistical categories will fluctuate from quarter to quarter, but both defenses maintained their edge for most of the afternoon.

As great LSU's defense has proven to be, the second- and third-best defensive lines in the conference might have been on display Saturday afternoon in Norman.

FINAL: Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17 

Oklahoma survived a thrilling back-and-forth in its SEC opener against Auburn, getting a late touchdown run John Mateer and a school-record performance from the Sooners defense to win and improve to 4-0 on the year. 

The Sooners sacked Jackson Arnold 10 times, which is a school record, and that dominance up front set the tone from the start of the game for a low-scoring grinder between two of the SEC's more talented teams. Neither Arnold nor John Mateer were able to take over the game, though the Sooners' quarterback did have a stretch of 11 straight completions in the second half as he led the scoring drives Oklahoma needed to pull ahead in the fourth quarter. 

Auburn had a chance in the fourth quarter, even taking a 17-16 lead, but after giving up a quick 75-yard touchdown drive to Mateer and then failing to move the ball down the field (eventually taking the game-ending safety), the Tigers were left pointing to the many missed opportunities in a seven-point game. Arnold finished with 220 yards on 21-of-32 passing, and thought he had some important scrambles finished with -11 rushing yards because of the sacks. 

Mateer's final stat line was solid (24-for-36 for 271 yards and two total touchdowns) but it was the highlight moment of his final touchdown run, outstretching his arms to cross the goal line, that will live on as a memory from this win. Though Oklahoma was the favorite in the game, logging a conference win against a ranked Auburn squad is still a big program moment for the recent SEC additions and this is a big career moment for Brent Venables as head coach. 

4Q: Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17

Oklahoma's defense backed up Auburn in their own end and then put delivered back-to-back sacks, the last of which resulted in an Auburn safety. The Sooners' defense is now up to 10 sacks on the afternoon, which is a new single-game school record. Brent Venables' crew has long been the strength of the team, and now this group is looking like one of the best defensive units in the country. To have the Sooners close this out with Mateer's playmaking and defensive excellence is a proper and fitting display of why Oklahoma has one of the best teams in the country through four weeks. 

Late 4Q: Oklahoma 22, Auburn 17

John Mateer answered the call, leading a beautiful six-play, 75 yard drive in just 2:14 to punch in a touchdown that regives the Sooners the lead. Mateer is up to 271 yards passing after a couple of key completions on the drive, and then the Sooners' quarterback delivered the go-ahead score. 

A huge turning point in the drive was a deep pass to Isaiah Setegna that was initially ruled as incomplete but later overturned as a complete. Though Setegna lost control of the ball after being pulled to the ground out of bounds, the officials ruled that replay showed he had control through the catch as he left the field of play. The pass set up the Sooners in scoring range, and that's when Mateer punched it in with his legs (his second touchdown of the day). 

Though after a failed two-point try, Auburn is only down five with just over four minutes to play. 

Mid 4Q: Auburn 17, Oklahoma 16 

Jackson Arnold scrambled to pick up a key 4th-and-Long then Auburn's drive was extended again when Oklahoma committed a pass interference on another 4th down attempt. A 4-yard run on a handoff to wide receiver Malcolm Simmons gives Auburn a touchdown, and the extra point gives Hugh Freeze's team its first lead of the afternoon. 

After chasing the game all day, and having Arnold under duress against this Oklahoma defense, the Tigers now are a couple of big defensive stops away from pulling off a big road win. Great resilience shown by Auburn to hang in the game, and now Oklahoma must answer with a scoring drive under pressure. 

For John Mateer, this is the time when his Heisman Trophy hopes and odds are hanging in the balance. Will he meet the moment? 

Mid 4Q: Oklahoma 16, Auburn 10

Auburn tried a trick play with receiver Eric Singleton Jr. on the outside catching a pass, and then throwing to Cam Coleman to the middle of the end zone. He was hugged by defensive back Gentry Williams at the waist as he went up with the ball, making for a close call, but no flag was thrown for pass interference.

Auburn fans will not like that no-call, which certainly seems it should have drawn a flag. 

Auburn kept its offense on the field for fourth-and-11 at OU's 38 and Jackson Arnold scrambled for a 15-yard gain to pick up the first down. Incredible play.

Early 4Q: Oklahoma 16, Auburn 10

Oklahoma opted to kick the chip-shot field goal, a 20-yarder from the foot of Tate Sendell, on fourth-and-2. He's 3 for 3 today.

The Sooners drove 58 yards on eight plays, burning 3:09 off the clock. There's 14:56 remaining. OU is now out-gaining Auburn 231-215, with 209 passing yards from John Mateer.

End 3Q: Oklahoma 13, Auburn 10

Oklahoma faces fourth-and-2 at the 10-yard line when the fourth quarter begins.

The Sooners' drive comes after Auburn's 50-yard missed field goal. John Mateer is hitting his receivers, who are coming open in the middle of the field and running mostly to the right sideline toward the OU bench. 

Mateer is 20 of 32 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown. A touchdown here could put this game out of reach.

Late 3Q: Oklahoma 13, Auburn 10

Auburn should be ahead right now, but Jackson Arnold overthrew a wide-open Cam Coleman streaking down the sideline and then the offense stalled just outside there red zone. Connor Gibbs missed a 50-yard field goal to keep Oklahoma ahead 13-10.

Arnold has misfired on two balls to a wide open Cam Coleman streaking down the field. The latest throw was the most egregious. Coleman easily had three steps on the defender, and yet Arnold overthrew Coleman in the end zone. Coleman had to lunge and go horizontal to try to catch the bad ball.

Despite all of these sacks (eight so far today), the Tigers should have two long touchdown passes on wide-open routes that should be credited solely to Coleman for his incredible speed and explosion off the line of scrimmage.

Mid 3Q: Oklahoma 13, Auburn 10

Tate Sandell dilled a 32-yard field goal to give Oklahoma the lead after a promising 11-play drive.

Jackson Arnold was back to his old self, wheeling and dealing with short and intermediate throws, escaping trouble and picking up positive yardage, and dragging the offense down the field with him. The Tigers' defensive line, which has limited OU to 24 rushing yards, held tough in the red zone and forced a field goal after the Sooners picked up a first down at the 19. 

On a Mateer scramble, he misfired high to a wide-open receiver along the left flat that would have resulted In an easy, walk-in touchdown.

We've got 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Early 3Q: Auburn 0, Oklahoma 0

Both defenses came out of the locker room with their hair on fire. Auburn forced a three-and-out and the Sooners followed it up with one of their own, including their eighth (!) sack of the game.

Difficult seeing Auburn winning this game by giving up double-digit sacks, and yet the Tigers are in a tie ballgame on the road in the SEC. Let's see what the Sooners do on their second possession of the half.

Halftime: Auburn 10, Oklahoma 10

Fifteen penalties were upheld in the first half, and many occurred at inopportune times, including an offensive pass interference on a big pass that could have led to a go-ahead field goal for the Sooners near the end of the first half.

Auburn is out-gaining Oklahoma 160-123, even with seven sacks and minus-2 yards rushing. Oklahoma was charged with eight penalties for 84 yards, including a critical pass interference that led to the Tigers' touchdown late in the second quarter.

John Mateer is 8 of 16 passing for 104 yards and one touchdown. Jackson Arnold is 12 of 18 passing for 162 yards and one touchdown in his grand return to Norman. Two of Arnold's incompletions were nearly picked off, however.

Auburn has minus-2 yards rushing thanks to seven sacks, but also have the only two double-digit gains on the ground with 11- and 15-yard runs.

Which team makes the best adjustments at halftime? Can Oklahoma slow down receivers Eric Singleton and Cam Coleman, who have leaked behind the secondary several times today? Will OU hit a deep pass?

More importantly, which team will cut down the penalties?

Late 2Q: Auburn 10, Oklahoma 10

Auburn continues to hit some great shots in the passing game, and now the Tigers have tied the game as a result. Auburn just capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive with a beautiful catch by Cam Coleman in the left corner of the end zone for a 2-yard pass.

This has been a very physical game in the trenches. Believe it or not, Auburn has the longest run of the game (15 yards) but has minus-2 yards overall thanks, in part, to six sacks by the OU defense.

The Tigers grunted that drive out, and were helped by a pass interference call on Courtland Guillory on second-and-10 at the 16 that placed the ball at the 2.

Arnold hit Eric Singleton earlier on the drive and the receiver fought through a tackle for an 18-yard gain on second-and-11 to keep the drive alive. 

Early 2Q: Oklahoma 10, Auburn 3

Auburn busted its own coverage and John Mateer hit a wide-open Isaiah Sategna for a 24-yard touchdown pass, capitalizing on a calvacade of mistakes by the visitors. It appeared Sategna was jogging to the sideline to be substituted, but he stayed in the game, confusing the Tigers' defense and leading to the score.

The question: should Oklahoma have been flagged for unsportsmanlike penalty on the fake substitution?

Oklahoma an dAuburn combined for five penalties in six plays on the previous possession, and in the end it set up Auburn with a third-and-33. The Tigers had to punt a play later, and the disastrous special teams miscues continued for the Tigers as punter Hudson Kaak mishandled a snap, rolled left and was hit for a 12-yard loss by Michael Boganowski for a turnover on downs.

Two plays later, Auburn's secondary got lost and Sategna found himself wide open on the far side of the field just a couple yards short of the end zone. He walked into the end zone. 

Talk about a disastrous series of events for Auburn. Earlier, Malcolm Simmons fielded a punt in his own end zone, chasing the ball in the air as if it was a pass for a touchdown.

End 1Q: Oklahoma 3, Auburn 3

Both defenses have settled down a bit after back-to-back three-and-outs. 

Auburn's Cam Coleman burned Oklahoma's secondary on third-and-10 near the end of the quarter, but Jackson Arnold overthrew the diving receiver down the right sideline. Interestingly, Auburn has broken free in the Sooners' secondary three times today, with two going for big gains. That's something to monitor as Auburn entered today struggling through the air. The Tigers are averaging 20.3 yards per completion today.

Oklahoma will start the second quarter on its own 35, facing third-and-2. 

OU has 46 yards compared to Auburn's 68. Arnold is 3 of 6 passing for 61 yards and John Mateer is 4 of 7 for 23 yards.

Late 1Q: Oklahoma 3, Auburn 3

Auburn put together a fantastic drive that started at its own 7-yard line, but then stalled inside the Sooners' 10 before settling for a field goal. 

The drive was by quarterback Jackson Arnold hitting a few big passes, and picking up a third down with his feet.

Arnold hit Cam Coleman down the middle of the field for a 46-yard gain down to Oklahoma's 47-yard line to spark the drive. Arnold scrambled for a first down on third-and-10. Malcolm Simmons picked up 18 yards on another throw to the 21-yard line, and Oklahoma's Gentry Williams was called for a facemark penalty on the play to push the Tigers to the 11. 

Jeremiah Cobb 7-yard run push them to the 4, but Arnold lost two yards on a keeper before Eric Singleton stepped out of bounds on a swing pass at the 6.

Alex McPherson drilled the 24-yard field goal to tie the game with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter.

https://x.com/SECNetwork/status/1969492189819330602

Mid 1Q: Oklahoma 3, Auburn 0

Tate Sandell kicked a 49-yard field goal to give Oklahoma a 3-0 lead with 8:32 remaining. The Sooners managed to move the ball a tad after officials overturned a fumble return for a touchdown by Auburn, ruling it an incomplete pass. The Sooners come up on the positive side of a 10-point swing following their first possession.

Oklahoma avoided disaster thanks to a replay review on an Isaiah Sategna III catch, that was forced out by Jarquez Robinson. Kayin Lee returned the fumble for a touchdown. The replay review, however, revealed Sategna never had possession of the catch, so officials ruled it an incomplete pass. 

Sooners maintain possession at Auburn's 40-yard line.

Early 1Q: Auburn 0, Oklahoma 0

Auburn went backward on its first possession, which ended with Oklahoma's Taylor Wein sacking quarterback Jackson Arnold. Arnold's first possession in his return to Norman didn't fare well. The Tigers managed only two yards on a Jeremiah Cobb run, and Jackson was sacked for an 11-yard loss.

Auburn's biggest concern coming into this game was whether the Tigers could throw the ball efficiently. Auburn has not done well through the air this season with Arnold at the controls.

Jackson Arnold's return to Norman should be Interesting on multiple levels.

How will Oklahoma fans respond? Will he seek out OU coach Brent Venables?

There doesn't appear to be much bad blood between Arnold and Venables, but there was certainly frustration from both parties. Arnold hoped to be redshirted after starting four games last season, but after he was benched, Venables reinserted him in the lineup later in the year.

Check out our story chronicling the relationship, the lost year that was 2024 and what to expect when Auburn and Oklahoma hit the field this afternoon.

Better Apart: Ex-Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold, now thriving at Auburn, returns to face Brent Venables

Brandon Marcello