Hugh Freeze knew even before stepping into the season that he was going to be tested brutally. Even Paul Finebaum said, “I say that every time I watch Auburn play, they make another defense look elite. Hugh Freeze once had a reputation as an offensive genius. I think we can eliminate that from his bio now.” Looks like little by little, Freeze’s effort to whitewash his program’s image is falling apart. The Tigers have now lost two back-to-back games. One against the Oklahoma Sooners and the other against the Texas A&M Aggies. Losing to Mike Elko’s program, Freeze has hit a bitter reality check. 

On the October 6 episode of the Tiger Talk coaches radio show, Freeze poured his heart out. “It was one of the worst experiences, truthfully, of my coaching career, offensively,” said the Auburn head coach. “I take it very, very personally, so the open week wasn’t real pleasant for me. I didn’t take a day off until Saturday.”

Auburn’s 16–10 loss saw the Tigers snatch a late lead for the second straight week, only to crumble once again. After struggling against No. 6 Oklahoma, Freeze’s offense hit a new low: just one yard in four fourth-quarter possessions versus Texas A&M. The Tigers’ line needed a rebound after 10 sacks against Oklahoma. Remember how Freeze did not inch back from pointing his fingers at the Auburn players after the Sooners handed them a heartbreak?

Against Oklahoma, Freeze’s boys fell prey to 13 penalties. That’s when the head coach lost his cool and said, “Undisciplined, bad decisions….man, that was disappointing and certainly undisciplined.” They did a bit better versus Texas A&M, but seven sacks, some in crucial moments, and untimely penalties kept killing drives. The offensive line drew five penalties, and though the College Station crowd may have masked some of the chaos, Xavier Chaplin was responsible for three. A third-quarter fourth-down conversion that could have led to points was negated by a Chaplin holding penalty, and he was also flagged twice for false starts.

Talking about defense? Freeze’s boys have remained a threat to any offense that stands in their way. Texas A&M averaged 42.3 points per game headed into this matchup. Against the Tigers’ defense, the Aggies got throttled at just 16. But their offense has been a clear mess with the eyes on individual stats.

Jackson Arnold threw for just 124 yards on 53% completions, Eric Singleton could only muster 57 receiving yards, Cam Coleman 18, and the running game was nowhere to be found. While Freeze himself might be upset with where his boys stand currently, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart tries to apply some healing balm on Auburn’s fresh wounds.

Kirby Smart’s compassion for Hugh Freeze’s Auburn

The Georgia Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) sit at No. 10 in the AP poll, while the Auburn Tigers (3-2, 0-2 SEC) remain unranked after dropping consecutive games. The two teams will be facing off on October 11. But instead of further battering Freeze and Co.’s confidence, which has already hit rock bottom, Smart stood there as a true friend. He, too, knows that Freeze and his boys might be in search of some kind words to boost their morale.

According to Smart, Auburn fell prey to its schedule, which kicked them out of the College Football Playoff radar. “They’ve got a great football team. They’ve played 2 really, really, really hard road games,” Smart said. “[Their losses are to] 2 of the premier teams in our league right now. They’re playing really good defensively. [They’re] playing really good defensively, [have] a lot of weapons on offense… and do a great job on special teams.”

Now, is it high time that Hugh Freeze stops putting the blame on others and starts sharpening his own scheme? It has now become a habit for the Auburn head coach. Maybe he is upset about how his boys are leaving no stone unturned, yet not getting the fruits of their hard work. Back on September 27, the Auburn head coach said, “Our kids are playing too hard. Offensively, that was unacceptable. Our defense played their tails off and well enough to win the game. … It was unacceptable the way we played.” Here comes a reminder from On3’s Andy Staples, who sees Freeze’s seat as “pretty hot.”