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wvtm13.com Jordan-Hare Stadium 'will be electric' during game against #1 Georgia, Hugh Freeze says Taylor Lang 25–32 minutes Jordan-Hare Stadium 'will be electric' during game against #1 Georgia, Hugh Freeze says Weak safety who, um, obviously didn't get enough reps. Um, but when Kaufman went down, we had to take, uh, Wooton to move him down there and, um, you know, we just, we blew two coverages, you know, with, uh, with *** guy that just hadn't played *** lot of snaps and, um, we gotta, we gotta just keep creating depth, but I thought they played, um, you know, *** really solid game and I'm proud of, uh, that side and the staff obviously offensively, um, I know you'll find this hard to believe, but it, uh, you watched the tape and there was *** lot of good things in the first half and should have, should have left the first half with *** minimum of 12 points. Um, the two holding calls that we had 1st and 10 inside the 30 on both of them that, uh, put us in behind the chains. We're not quite good enough yet to survive that. Um, and those were, we were running the ball effectively and, uh, then the, the pressure was, was *** good bit on us for sure when we had to get in those throwing downs. And, uh, I think they have one of the more talented defensive fronts, but we had people open and, um, it was *** mixture of, I think us not standing in there and making *** throw. And then, uh, also some, some times where I don't think we had time to, uh, adequately step up and make the throw. So we got to continue to work and coach that better and, um, and get us more consistent and stay out of the negative, uh, play situations where, um, we, we easily could have had some points in that first half and made that *** game. So that's the frustrating part of it for sure. And, um, man, but excited to be back home to play, uh, one of the gold standards in college football right now, uh, with what coach Smart has done there and, uh, in his eighth season is, uh, he's got it rolling and so it'll be *** great test for us. Thank God, we're Jordan hair. I know it will be electric and, um, we're, we're gonna get the kids that are healthy enough. We're gonna get them ready to play and, and compete in this game. Who when you go on the road, the two things you can't do, turn the ball over and get, uh, get penalties in general. You didn't turn the ball over at all on the road in the SEC, but then you had 10 penalties. So how did you address that on Saturday? And how do you address that moving forward? Well, um, there's four of them that, um, I, I didn't like and I, I, I've turned them in. I don't, I don't see them. Then there's three that, uh, two were intentional to try to back us up to, to punt and, uh, give Oscar *** little more room to try to pin him deep. Um, the false start can't happen. We had one of those, um, trying to remember what the others were. There was *** holding call on *** pass play that was, uh, probably legit. Um, so, I mean, it was, it was *** mixed bag. You can't have 10 penalties though for whatever reason. And, uh, it put us behind the chains and thought we controlled the second quarter. I think we had it for 12 minutes and came away with three points, which that's, I think that defines the game. You, you control the ball 12 minutes in *** quarter, you got to get some points and we, we certainly felt like, um, we were in field goal range at least forget touchdowns. Let's just say we were in field goal range on, on 44 different occasions and got knocked out either because of penalties or sack after that. And, um, those were that, that's really where the game and then the seven minutes span in the third quarter, um, where we did not get any first downs and, um, and they got explosive plays uh, for whatever reasons, I think just flipped the game. So, uh, you can't have the 10 penalties and that's not typically who we are and we've got to get that cleaned up. Good to see us not turn it over. Are you still heading into this week? I think with the same mindset of Peyton as QB one and Robbie will get his touches in, in some facet. Yeah, we're still kind of, uh, waiting through that, but, uh, that's probably, uh, where it will land this week also, you know, the protection on the offensive line, I guess, from what you said in your opening statement, I feel like sometimes holding on the ball *** little too much. Sometimes, um, you know, the line breaking down on the sacks is kind of how did you see those sacks? Kind of, it's *** combination, you know, I think there's, uh, times that, uh, uh, it's, it's ***, it's, it's *** plethora of responsibility, but ultimately, it lands in my lap in the lap of the offensive coaches to, uh, um, make sure the routes are run at the correct depth with the correct releases against the correct coverage. And then obviously the protection has to be good, which is, it's very hard to, to do that in third and long situations against *** talented defensive front that you see in these leagues. Um, and there were some times where, you know, the ball should have come out and it didn't. So I, I think it's, uh, the responsibility lies um in *** lot of different places. But, uh then, you know, you also had *** great third down throw that puts us back in scoring position that we didn't catch. Um And so it's, it's, it, it, it's *** combination of things and, um, but ultimately, like I said, it, it lies with, uh with us, the coaching staff to, to get those things fixed is following up on, on the, uh, quarterbacks talked about kind of Peyton probably being the one that you were gonna look at this this week is he said that he has to keep earning the job, I guess. How does he earn the job going forward at this point? Well, certainly with more consistent play, but there's, again, there's times I feel like we've, we've let both Peyton and Robbie and Holden or whoever the quarterback is, I feel like we have let them down because of all the other components that go into the passing game. And, um, that is where I'm determined to try to help get fixed this week before you give some final grade on, on *** quarterback's play. Um, it's like when Robbie came in, you know, I thought he, I thought he made, uh, *** two really nice throws on, on two deep balls and I thought the routes were, were, were not run correctly. And, um, so I know that quarterbacks and coaches get the, the blame coaches, we deserve it. Quarterbacks don't always probably deserve it. Um, and so I think again, I've said we're still *** work in progress with, with the roster that we have. And I think this, I've always kind of had in my mind that, uh, you, we have ***, I kind of divide the season up. So there's, there's *** season one which is the season up until the, until the open week. And, um, then you've got *** lot of evaluating to do that open week as to how you move forward from there. He was already *** roster that was, was pretty beat up physical game on Saturday. Any updates on Demaris and, and some of those guys we saw going in on Saturday, yeah, tomorrow will be out uh for, for *** period of time for sure. Um I think they're doing some more tests today on that, but he, he had *** dislocated shoulder for sure. And just *** matter of, you know, sometimes those things can heal on their own in time. Sometimes they, they, they require more, more work. And, uh, we, we really don't know. Uh Kaufman tried but, uh, just kept being gimpy with, with, with the ankle and, uh, we'll have to see how he is day to day, uh, for sure. Um Puckett obviously left with *** shoulder and that really hurt us. He was, he was doing *** good job of, of keeping us on the same page. Back there and our coverages and that really cost us two touchdowns, um, when we had to move to, to go to, to, to the nickel position, um, because, uh, JD Rhyme couldn't play and we already, you know, without Kante and Kaufman and, and so that, uh, really took *** toll on us and hurt us there. But, um, all of those guys will be day to day. I don't think it's anything that's gonna keep them out for *** significant amount of time. But, but day to day coach, how do you, how would you characterize what you guys were trying to accomplish early in the game on Saturday offensively? And, um, would you, would you point more toward execution or game plan? How much of that do you wear as *** coaching staff? Loved the game plan. Thought we ran the ball really, really well. The first two quarters had explosive runs again, controlled the entire second quarter with the run game and just didn't convert any drives and for the reasons I've already mentioned, uh, so, uh, second half game plan could have been better, um, particularly in the third quarter. Um, but, um, certainly I felt really good about the, the first half and, and the way we, I thought blocked them, um, made *** few mistakes that really hurt us, um, on *** few calls that, uh, should have been executed and obviously we haven't coached it well enough that I thought would have been even more explosive plays, got *** transition and block better at the perimeter. Uh, that made those 10 yard runs, 20 yard runs. So we still got it. We've got *** lot of coaching to do on that side of the ball. But I, I thought the game plan was really solid when you look at the film, people are running open, uh, go watch the film. I mean, on the, on the routes that were designed, you know, either we didn't have enough time or we missed, we had *** wheel route, this is probably *** touchdown and uh we overthrow it and um had *** seam route from running wide open, missed that. Um Just, you know, you, we've got to make those plays when we have them, but, uh, *** lot of those designs were pretty good and then we either have to coach it better or, or we got to execute it better. It's *** combination. Me, all right. Um, you played in some, or coached in some major rivalry games, including the bowl? Where does Georgia Auburn kind of stand up compared to that? Well, I mean, I don't wanna quote something that's inaccurate, but it's the oldest rivalry in the south for sure. I don't, I don't know about nationally but um, it's, it's, it's, it's, am I, am I saying that correctly? Um So, um I, I don't sense that it has, uh, um I better not, I don't know if this is right or wrong, but I'm new here. But I, I don't sense the hatred that is in some other rivalries that I've been *** part of. But nonetheless I think it's, uh, I think it's intense. Ok. Well, I'll find out, um, you know, I, I'm not big on hate. I, I, I'm really not. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm big on just man that this means something to so many people. So we should compete in *** way out of love for our people, not necessarily for hate for other people. That's kind of the way I, I operate. But man, II, I hope we compete because we love Auburn and it means something to the Auburn people to compete against Georgia. So, um that, that'll, that'll be my approach and um but nonetheless, that love is *** great motivator for me. So, yeah, you're going back to Peyton. Is there *** big gulf between the guy and practice and the guy on the game field? Because practice was really good last week. I mean, he's really sharp in practice, really sharp in practice. Uh last week particularly was really, really sharp in practice. And um and um we keep hoping to see that translate into the games and again, it's *** combination, it's not all Payton. Um But sometimes it is and he owns it. Um We had *** good meeting last night. Um And so we, we just got to try this week to, to get *** plan in place that all execute and all understand totally. And that, that falls on Philip and his staff and ultimately on me second. So, uh yes, you, um Pff uh had *** stat, uh saying Peyton was four or five on throws at feature play action. Is that *** meaningful stat at all? Is that something you could build on if we're, yeah, you know, we, we love play action. Um I'm trying to remember those um in the, in the play action world, I mean, the uh the, the week before we were very effective in the RPO game and in this game, um we threw zero RP OS. Um That's not something I'm happy about. Um I probably am where I am today because I brought the RPO game to this conference or one of the, one of the first, I think people would say. And um that sounded bad. I don't, I don't want to act like I created the RPO world or anything, but I do think I was one of the first to, to, to bring it to this, to this game with, with tempo and um and we've gotten away from that and um I don't really understand that. And so we've got to figure out our identity, who, who we really are and, and what can Peyton do and what can Robbie do and what can Holden do? And um we're, we're still, uh I know people don't like to hear people want success now, they won't, they, they want you to win now, every single game. And, uh, I get all of that. Uh, this is not my first rodeo with taking over *** program that, uh, that has struggled and, um, certainly not, uh, at all phased and, um, hungrier than ever to, to move forward and get better. And we will, um, some of that's gonna help in recruiting, but that, in the meantime, you gotta get the ones you have better and that's our job and for us to be, uh, all over the map one week, we throw effectively RP OS in the next week. We don't, why, what, why is that? And we've got to figure that out and, uh, another quick follow up which is play fakes. So I don't know what they're talking about, you know, I, I don't know what, what they're exactly saying there. If play action versus RPO for *** change of pace recruiting, you mentioned, um, how big of *** weekend will this be for you? The Georgia weekend with recruits coming here? And how important can *** weekend like this be to the future of this program? You know, uh, I don't know that we'll have enough tickets for all the crews that wanna come. Um, I'm glad I'm not having to deal with that, but our recruiting staff is working diligently. We got official visits. We've got top kids here unofficially and, and so it'll be *** it'll be, uh, all hands on deck, Auburn putting their best foot forward, which they will. Our people are incredible. Uh, our place is incredible to watch *** game at the atmosphere. And so now we've got ***, we've got to make sure they see what Auburn is really about while they're here for *** game of this magnitude. Hey, coach, uh, Kirby's coming in here two time defending national champion. I know you've been out of the conference for *** few years, but from afar watching what he's done and what he's built over there or what impresses you the most with that program and what he's done. Well, uh, you know, I played Kirby his first year, um, when I was still at Ole Miss and I, I know kind of what he inherited, um, because I coached in that game and, and I know what the outcome was and, um, I think it was ***, it's *** great testament to his vision, to his work ethic, to his staff, to his administration, being patient and allow him to go have the years he needed to, to recruit and the dividends are paying off greatly. I mean, they're, uh, one of the gold standards in college football right now and, you know, you're recruiting the top three class every single year and that's, that's hard to compete with and, and they're well coached and so, you know, you got to give them credit. Um, I know it's *** rivalry game, but the truth is the truth and, uh, he's built *** damn good football program there with. So that means *** lot of things or it means he's got the support from the administration. It means he's got the support from the fans. And, um, uh, I don't know how long it took him. I don't know what it take him three years or so to, to get there or four years. II, I don't know. Some of y'all could to do the research, but you get his second year. That's, I don't know that that's accurate. But um um anyway, so, um he did it pretty fast then. That's, that's pretty impressive. It's even more impressive coach on that note of building *** program obviously internally and externally. Sometimes there's not enough patience while you're trying to build your identity and some of these growing pains that you're kind of already seeing this season. What's the reasonable amount of patience that *** team should have to be able to build that identity and find success? Well, I don't get to decide that the good thing is, I don't worry about that anymore. I, I used to but I'm, I'm, you know, I'm older now and I am totally comfortable in the way we are uh building this program and, and mentoring young people and teaching them uh the lessons that football teaches for life and um uh the winds will come. I believe that firmly. Um But uh, the, the, whatever people's patience level is, is really, I can't control that so I can't worry about it and I really don't worry about it and I worry about the people in this building, our administration and, and I worry about our fans too, but I can't control their, their patience level and I think it's, I don't know, can I be really candid? I think it's, I think it's, I think it's kind of ridiculous uh, that, uh, that those are already discussions in and around our kids. Uh II I do. But, um, but it's not something that, that we worry about, but they should expect us to improve and that's *** reasonable expectation and, and play hard and, and I think our kids have played hard and so, um, I'll, I'll let the other people that really matter, decide, uh their, their patience level. I know there's *** lot of programs that have, that have taken 3 to 4 to 5 years to, to get where they are now and, you know, they're probably happy that they did that, but everybody's got to decide their own feelings on that and I can't worry about that. Phillip. You, uh, you're talking about something like no RP OS and those things. Uh How involved are you in, in the game plan? And do you see yourself getting more involved in the play call? Boy, this is, uh, this is something I'm struggling with. That's all I probably need to say, uh, it's not that I don't have, it's just, it's, it, this is new for me and, um, I'm afraid it, when, when, when, when I get, uh, um, if, if I did try to get too involved that it could cause confusion with, um, terminology, um, um, but obviously they're going through the game plan with me. Um, I mean, I'm, I don't, I go through the game plan with both sides and special teams and, and so again, I thought the game plan was solid last week. Um And so again, some of it is, uh, but it's, but it's *** struggle for me and I've, I've confessed that to everybody in the building, um, where that, that ultimately leads to, let's see how, how the year unfolds, but it's, uh, you know, I'm confident that I, I, I'm going to be more involved. Um, but it's still difficult when it's, it's kind of not your, your terminology and it's kind of hard to make, you know, *** lot of adjustments right on the file on the, on the sideline. And so anyway, uh, I think Monie and, and them are doing *** great job right now of, of, of trying to correct the issues that we all see. And, um, let's see how, how these weeks progress. But, um, we were together *** lot last night, *** lot this morning and we'll be this afternoon. Um, making sure now, look, you still got to block them and you still got to go win *** one on one. And that's easier said than done right now with the talent level that, that we're facing with the, uh, *** Georgia or an LSU in particular that are coming up the next two and even *** and M, but I will say, I thought we won some one on ones and just didn't get the, the, the completion for whatever reason, pressure or didn't understand the progression properly or, um, and all of that we have to get corrected as coaches. Yeah, coach, um, you know, everybody's been super impressed. I think yourself as well with Eugene and just the, you know, the heart that he plays with. Who's that guy on the offensive side of the ball? Who's the Eugene Asan of the offense that just kind of matches *** similar intensity like that. Yeah, we're, we're searching truthfully, um, that was one of the things I just, I think we've got to get more, uh, swagger on the offensive side and, and, um, like that, uh, the, the most positive guy by far to this point has been Luke deal. Uh, I think he's the one that has *** good grasp on how this league plays out, how difficult these games are and how challenging they are for 60 minutes and, and how you can have three bad possessions in *** row. Um, we're not the only ones that, that have those and, um, and but yet you have to maintain this, this positive attitude that the next one could be the one that matters. And, um, he, he's been, he's been definitely that, uh, for the offensive side for sure. Coach, you've talked about the talent gap between, you know, some of the top teams of the conference and where you feel like Auburn is at right now. You know, what message do you send to your team in spite of that? To make them feel like they have what it takes to beat these teams week in and week out. Yeah, that's the, that's, that's *** balancing act. I just, uh, I'm always truthful with our team and I tell them every Monday in our truth meeting this afternoon, hey, you're the, you, you're this game, you're the favorite, you should win it. This game is *** tossup, this game, you'll be the underdog that, I mean, you can't win it and here's how we're gonna win it. Um So I've done that everywhere I've ever been. Um, and I think it, uh, it's, it creates *** transparency and auth authenticity. Um, at the same time, II, I tell them to be very clear on the fact that I've never walked into *** game thinking we can't win it and they shouldn't either. And so I give them plenty of examples of, um, you're not supposed to take *** liberty team and be Arkansas either. Um, but our Virginia Tech or are an Ole Miss to beat Alabama, but we've, we've done that and, and we can do it here too. And so, and that's how I go about it. Zero for 4.5 for you guys over the past three games. Do you think maybe the script is getting thrown off *** little at the beginning? I know you talked about, you feel good about your, your game plan. What do you kind of throw in to factor that? Yeah. Uh, uh, I'm trying to remember the other games where we had ***, we drove it right down the field the week before and didn't get it in the end zone. We threw it on first down and second down and then had *** penalty, I think. Um, and I don't know that we had another possession in the, in the first quarter in that game that I can remember because we, we went right down the field on every possession. So obviously the game plan other than the, the tight red zone was fine there at this game. I mean, we rattled off four first downs the first drive, I believe and then, uh, the second drive the same way and, uh, in this game and you got in field goal range and we shot ourselves in the foot either with *** penalty or, or, or with *** sack. Um, so maybe have to evaluate, you know, when we're, um, maybe we have to go to more match protection. Uh, we'll have to look at that. But, um, I don't, again, we should have had points in the first quarter, but we didn't and that's got to get fixed. Wanted to ask you about Holden getting that last drive. Just how important would you think it was for him to get that experience? And what did you see out of him as *** young quarterback? I think Holden if, um, if he ends up at some point being the guy, he's just got to have *** lot of reps. Um, I love the way he seemed poised. Uh, his throws were inaccurate, you know, it was, it was two balls out of bounds that really could have, if, if catch *** ball to have *** shot. Um, he threw one really good one. but really he was about one for five on, on accuracy, um, in, in those, but it's, I, I, again, you're talking about *** guy that we hadn't get given quality reps and I think, um, I think he, with the quality reps, I think could be more accurate because he, he has the quickest release and he stands tall in the pocket and, uh, I don't remember him having ***, an enormous amount of pressure around him at that time. So that's remains to be seen. But, um, something that, uh, that we definitely, we got an open week coming up that we've got, we gotta look at *** lot of things, I got *** whole list that I'm formulating.

al.com Auburn football: Hugh Freeze updates status of injured RB Damari Alston Updated: Sep. 25, 2023, 12:13 p.m.|Published: Sep. 25, 2023, 11:08 a.m. 2–3 minutes Hugh Freeze didn't know how fast Kirby Smart had success at UGA, talks expectations from Auburn fans After hauling in a pitch from quarterback Payton Thorne, Auburn running back Damari Alston’s right arm took a nasty blow from a Texas A&M defender’s helmet. The hit dislodged the football and the play was initially ruled a fumble recovery for a touchdown. However, after a lengthy review, the call on the field was reversed and was ruled an incomplete forward pass. At the time, it felt like a monumental break for the Auburn Tigers, who would go on to lose the game 27-10. And while Auburn might’ve dodged the disastrous result on the scoreboard, the play still came at an expense as the hit sent Alston back to the sideline — obviously in agonizing pain as he clutched his right arm. After a brief trip to the on-field injury tent, Alston took to the locker room and later emerged out of his shoulder pads and in a sling. Following the game, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze didn’t have much of an update. In his Monday-morning press conference, however, Freeze was able to offer some clarity on Alston’s availability moving forward. “Damari will be out for a period of time for sure,” Freeze said, adding that Alston suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Aggies. “It’s just a matter of, you know, sometimes those things can heal on their own in time. Sometimes they require more work. And we really don’t know.” Freeze said Alston was undergoing further testing Monday to get a clearer picture at the injury’s severity. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

al.com ‘We have let them down’: Auburn’s Hugh Freeze takes some blame for QB struggles Published: Sep. 25, 2023, 12:40 p.m. 5–6 minutes By Monday — back home in Auburn in his own office building — Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has had time to finally sit down and watch the game film from Auburn’s ugly 27-10 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. And entering a week of practice before facing the No. 1-ranked team in the country, Freeze defended his quarterback room. The blame doesn’t totally lie on them, he said. But he didn’t appear fully confident in his starter Payton Thorne, either. “We’re still kind of wading through that,” Freeze said when asked if Thorne would be the sure-fire starter against Georiga. “But that’s probably where it will land this week also.” Auburn’s quarterbacks struggled at Kyle Field. All three played — Thorne, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner — and all three combined to throw for 56 yards. They completed nine of 23 passes. Freeze said Thorne has been accurate and has made good decisions in practice. But it hasn’t translated to the game. Freeze said that may not all be on Thorne, but Thorne has owned it thus far. Freeze suggested he’ll be evaluating all three quarterbacks again in practice this week. It isn’t a quarterback battle, at least not yet, but it is a situation where Thorne has continued to need to earn his job. He has been pushed in practice by Ashford and Geriner. But while Georgia isn’t likely the time or place to try something new under-center, he does still want to get reps for all three. “I think Holden if he ends up at some point being the guy, he’s just got to have a lot of reps,” Freeze said. “I love the way he seemed poised, his throws were inaccurate.” But Freeze took blame for the struggles too. He pinned blame on offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery as well. Frankly, Freeze put blame on the whole offense. The problem doesn’t lie in any one place, he said. “There’s times I feel like we’ve let both Payton and Robby and Holden or whoever the quarterback is, I feel like we have let them down because of all the other components that go into the passing game,” Freeze said. “That is where I’m determined to try and help get fixed this week before you give some final grade on a quarterback’s play.” The blame lies on the offensive line, which allowed seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss. It lies on wide receivers who Freeze said were seen multiple times running the round routes. It lies on penalties — Auburn was called for 10 of them including at least one penalty on all five of Auburn’s starting offensive linemen. “I know the quarterbacks and coaches get the blame,” Freeze said. “Coaches, we deserve it. Quarterbacks don’t always probably deserve it.” Certainly, there were many plays where the quarterbacks held onto the ball for too long. There were multiple missed throws, too. “People running open, go watch the film,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to make those plays when we have them. A lot of those designs were pretty good. We either have to coach it better or we have to execute it better.” There was a wheel route to wide receiver Jay Fair that Thorne overthrew. That likely would have been a touchdown had the pass been completed. Freeze also mentioned a seam route to tight end Tyler Fromm where the ball didn’t even go his direction. With issues that Freeze appears to believe extend throughout the entire coaching and personnel system of the offense, finding Auburn’s identity remains an ongoing question. Installing his own run-pass-option scheme is still taking time, and Freeze said Auburn didn’t run any RPO plays during the Texas A&M game. “We’ve got to figure out our identity, who we really are, and what can Peyton do,” Freeze said. “And what can Robby do? And what can Holden do? I know, people don’t like to hear it. People want success now. They want you to win now, every single game. I get all of that. This is not my first rodeo with taking over a program that has struggled and I’m certainly not at all fazed.” There’s a lot of uncertainty throughout the offensive side of the ball. And on the week Auburn is trying to figure it all out, the upcoming opponent is Georiga. Freeze will focus on getting through this game before Auburn gets to the bye week right after. He called the bye week the end of “Season One″, followed by a significant evaluation before Auburn travels to LSU the week after. Freeze will be watching a lot of film of his quarterbacks. But he said there is a lot more to fix. “I’ve said we’re still a work in progress with the roster that we have,” Freeze said. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link

247sports.com On Georgia week Freeze preaches patience as Auburn chases the gold standard Nathan King 5–6 minutes Auburn’s SEC home opener against one of college football’s “gold standards” is a reminder to Hugh Freeze of where his program is, and the heights it aspires to reach. Kirby Smart’s budding dynasty comes to town, as No. 1 Georgia looks to make it seven straight wins in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. The Tigers aren’t often double-digit underdogs in Jordan-Hare Stadium, but against a program looking to three-peat as national champions, it’s currently over two touchdowns in favor of the visitors. Alabama and its six national titles under Nick Saban are still alive, of course, but Georgia’s level of success is where Auburn — and everyone else in the sport — wants to be. And Auburn, at least for the foreseeable future, will continue playing both every season. “I know it's a rivalry game, but the truth is the truth, and he's built a dang good football program there,” Freeze said. “So that means a lot of things. That means he's got the support from the administration. It means he's got support from the fans.” After all, didn’t take long for Smart to win over his alma mater. The team he took over had won 20 games in its last two seasons under Mark Richt. But Year 1 had its lumps: The Bulldogs needed a last-minute field goal to beat Nicholls State at home. They lost at home to Vanderbilt. They lost to rival Georgia Tech — and have won seven straight in that series since. Georgia’s patience never had a chance to wear thin, as the Bulldogs won the SEC the next year and almost won a national championship. The situation isn’t exactly comparable to Freeze taking over a depleted Auburn roster. But patience is still something Freeze wants to ensure Auburn fans want to practice after an ugly, SEC-opening loss at Texas A&M. “The good thing is I don't worry about that anymore,” Freeze said. “I used to, but I'm older now. I'm totally comfortable in the way we're building this program and mentoring young people and teaching them the lessons football teaches for life. The wins will come, I believe that firmly, but whatever people's patience level is — I can't control that. I can't worry about it, and I don't worry about it. I worry about the people in this building and this organization. I worry about our fans, too, but I can't control their patience level.” Auburn fans can’t look to their ultra successful rivals and bank on the same results. Saban had an undefeated regular season in Year 2. Freeze has reiterated it since the offseason, but Auburn’s talent level is far from the point of competing for championships yet. He does, however, believe Auburn can compete against any opponent if it executes. Some of that showed up in the Texas A&M loss. “I think it's kind of ridiculous that those are already discussions in and around our kids,” Freeze said. “I do. But it's not something we worry about. But they should expect us to improve. That's a reasonable expectation to play hard, and our kids have played hard. I'll let the other people that really matter decide their patience level. I know there are a lot of programs that have taken three to four to five years to get to where they are now. I know they're happy they did that, but everybody's got to decide their own feelings on that. I can't worry about that.” The only previous matchup for Saturday’s head coaches was in Freeze’s last year at Ole Miss, and Smart’s first at Georgia. An Ole Miss team that finished 5-7 blasted the Bulldogs in Oxford, 45-14. Sixteen months later, Georgia was a miraculous Tua Tagovailoa throw away from winning a national title. “I know kind of what he inherited, because I coached in that game and I know what the outcome was,” Freeze said of Smart’s first SEC game as a head coach being against him at Ole Miss. “I think it's a great testament to his vision, to his work ethic, to his staff, to his administration, being patient and allowing him to go have the years he needed to recruit, and the dividends are paying off greatly.” The loss to Freeze remains the worst margin of defeat of Smart’s tenure at Georgia. Of course, that was Freeze catching a program in the early stages of a rebuild — albeit, a swift and overwhelmingly successful one — but a first-time head coach nonetheless. Now, of course, Freeze is in Year 1 at Auburn. But it hasn’t been too long since Auburn beat a No. 1 team when the Tigers were unranked: 2001, when Steve Spurrier and Florida came to the Plains and lost 23-20 to an Auburn team that finished 7-5. Auburn is certainly overmatched. Freeze knows it as well as anyone. But he hopes to get his first dose of the voodoo magic Pat Dye Field sometimes holds. “Thank God we're in Jordan-Hare,” Freeze said.

247sports.com Georgia anticipating one hell of an environment at Auburn for 1st road game Jordan D. Hill 4–5 minutes There’s been no place like home for the Georgia Bulldogs this season, as each of their first four games were played in the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium. The challenge that the Bulldogs face kicks up a notch on Saturday, when the Bulldogs head west to play in what promises to be a raucous road environment. Georgia’s first road game of 2023 will be Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET meeting with Auburn in a rivalry matchup that will likely put the Bulldogs to the test. The Bulldogs understand that the Auburn crowd will not be very welcoming to the nation’s No. 1 team, which could cause problems for a squad that has yet to play an away game this fall. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart pointed out that he’s probably coached in Jordan-Hare Stadium more than any other stadium besides the ones in Athens and Tuscaloosa. Smart noted having the first road game of the season this late in the schedule is not ideal — remember, Georgia was supposed to play at Oklahoma in Week 2 — but there can’t be any excuses when it comes to the task at hand. “I really believe in playing at a neutral site or getting a road game [early in the year], but there's not a lot of control I have over that either. It will be one hell of an environment. They do an incredible job with their fan base,” Smart said. “It's just an incredible environment. Their fan base is second to none. They're believing, and they've got a new coach and a new energy and they're doing a really good job. It will be tough. We have to prepare that way, and hope our players acknowledge that.” Saturday’s showdown will be the first road start for a number of Bulldogs, including quarterback Carson Beck. Beck took care of business in his first four games by completing just under 73% of his attempts for 1,184 yards with 6 touchdowns and 1 interceptions, but that success came in front of stadiums full of Georgia fans. Beck will make his first SEC road start in what is considered one of the loudest stadiums in the country, which will certainly test the junior as well as the other 10 Bulldogs as they try to operate the offense. Beck acknowledged a road game means some changes logistically in the lead-up to Saturday, but he sounded nothing but confident about the challenge the Bulldogs are facing. “It's always a little bit different as far as going on the road 'cause it's a different schedule. We have to travel, get on the plane,” Beck said. “I think we'll handle it well. We'll get in there on Sunday and start preparing.” The good news for Beck is he has plenty of players around him who have taken the field at Auburn before. Georgia right tackle Xavier Truss pointed out that Saturday’s game will be his third time playing at Auburn, and he described Jordan-Hare as “one of the great bucket-list stadiums to visit.” That said, Truss understands the Auburn fans will be trying their best to make life difficult on the Bulldogs — especially the big men up front. Truss said his goal this week is to make Georgia’s younger players understand what playing an SEC away game really means. Truss knows as well as anyone that the level of difficulty is kicking up a notch on Saturday, and his aim is to make sure none of his teammates are caught off guard by that. “Some of these guys have never played at Auburn. It's an electric atmosphere. You know how it is there when the crowd gets rocking,” Truss said. “Just getting them in the right mindset to show them how important getting the right preparation for this week is for an away SEC game.”

saturdaydownsouth.com Hugh Freeze evaluates Auburn’s QBs, suggests starter for Georgia Cory Nightingale | 10 hours ago 3–4 minutes Questions at the all-important quarterback position are not exactly the questions you want to be answering on the Monday before playing 2-time defending national champion Georgia. But that’s where Auburn is at right now, and that’s what Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze was doing 5 days before the 4-0 Bulldogs invade Jordan-Hare Stadium to face a 3-1 Auburn team that’s reeling a bit after last Saturday’s 27-10 loss at Texas A&M. When asked if junior Payton Thorne is still his starting quarterback going into the Georgia showdown, Freeze leaned toward the Michigan State transfer but wasn’t able to firmly commit to him. “We’re still wading through that,” said Freeze. “But that’s probably where we’ll land this week.” Thorne threw for just 44 yards and finished with 11 carries for minus-34 yards against the Aggies in a forgettable conference opener that dropped the Tigers from the ranks of the unbeaten. It was an eye-opening performance for all the wrong reasons for Thorne, who threw for 282 yards and ran for 123 more the week before in a blowout victory over Samford. Freeze also used sophomore Robby Ashford, who was 1-for-4 passing for 4 yards, and freshman Holden Geriner, who was 2-for-7 for 8 yards, in the loss to the Aggies. Texas A&M made life miserable for all of Auburn’s quarterbacks on Saturday, piling up 7 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Freeze came out in support of his quarterbacks on Monday. “I feel like we have let them down because of all the other components that go in the passing game,” said Freeze, who will eventually have to make a decision on a starter against Georgia. “We’re still a work in progress with the roster that we have,” he admitted.

Coach Freeze discusses the offensive play-calling going forward Andrew Stefaniak 2–3 minutes Coach Freeze discussed if he would be more involved in play calling. Auburn's offense was nonexistent on Saturday against the Texas A&M Aggies, and the question is whether this has more to do with play-calling or execution. There were some receivers running open, and Payton Thorne wasn't able to hit them, so there is blame to go all around. Coach Freeze was asked about getting more involved in the play-calling, and this was his response, "This is something I'm struggling with. That's all I should probably say. This is new for me. I'm afraid when I get too involved that, it could cause confusion with terminology. Obviously, they're going through the gameplay with me. I thought the gameplay was solid last week. It's a struggle for me; let's see how the year unfolds, but I'm confident that I'm going to be more involved. It's difficult when it's not your terminology; it's hard to make adjustments on the fly on the sideline. We worked together a lot last night and a lot this morning." We are not deep enough into the season to fully bash to current play calling, but in the two games against power five opponents, the offense has struggled to score. Still, to this point, the best play call of the season was the fade to Rivaldo Fairweather against Cal, and Coach Freeze admitted he made that call. Regardless of who is calling plays, the Auburn offense needs to start moving the football and scoring points.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Hugh Freeze press conference review: Georgia week Taylor Jones 16–20 minutes Hugh Freeze returned to the podium to address the media following his team’s 27-10 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday and spent time sharing his thoughts ahead of Saturday’s game with Georgia. One of the main points of emphasis in Monday’s presser was quarterbacks. Starter Payton Thorne passes for less than 100 yards for the second-straight game and has failed to consistently complete 75% or more of his passes. Backup Robby Ashford has gotten looks, but he has not won the battle over Thorne yet. Buy Tigers Tickets Third-stringer Holden Geriner played several snaps in the Texas A&M game, could he potentially start Saturday against Georgia? Freeze shut down that possibility Monday but described the diagram for Geriner to get more looks. “I think Holden, if he ends up at some point being the guy, he must have a lot of reps. I love the way he seemed poised. His throws were inaccurate. Two balls out of bounds. He threw one really good one. Really, he was about 1-for-5 in accuracy. We are talking about a guy that we haven’t given quality reps. I think he, with the quality reps, could be more accurate. He has the quickest release. He stands tall in the pocket, and I don’t remember him having an enormous amount of pressure around him at that time, so that remains to be seen. Something that we must look at during the off week. I have a lot of things; I have a whole list that I have formulated.” Freeze hit on a number of topics including his thoughts on the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Kirby Smart’s success, and his view on playcalling. Here’s a rundown of everything Hugh Freeze said during his Georgia week press conference on Monday. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports “Obviously, you never like to lose games, particularly when you don’t feel like you played your best, but there were a lot of things that I liked, especially from the defense. I thought they played extremely hard, and short-handed. Really, we easily could’ve probably held those guys to around 13 points. We were down to our third team weak safety, who obviously didn’t get enough reps, but when (Donovan) Kaufman went down, we had to take (Caleb) Wooden and move him down there. We just blew two coverages with a guy that just hadn’t played a lot of snaps. We’ve got to keep creating depth, but I thought they played a really solid game. I’m proud of that side and the staff.” “Offensively, I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but you watch the tape and there’s a lot of good things in the first half. We should’ve left the first half with a minimum of 12 points. The two holding calls that we had on 1st-and-10 inside of the 30 on both of them, that put us behind the chains. We’re not quite good enough yet to survive that. We were running the ball effectively, and then the pressure was a good bit on us, for sure, when we had to get in those throwing downs. I think they have one of the more talented defensive fronts, but we had people open. It was a mixture of, I think, us not standing in there and making the throw, and then also some times where I don’t think we had time to adequately step up and make the throw. We’ve got to continue to work and coach that better and get us more consistent and stay out of the negative play situations where we easily could’ve had some points in that first half and made that a game. So, that’s the frustrating part of it for sure. But I’m excited to be back home to play one of the gold standards in college football right now, with what Coach (Kirby) Smart has done there in his eighth season. He’s got it rolling, so it’ll be a great test for us. Thank God we’re in Jordan-Hare. I know it will be electric, and we’re going to get the kids that are healthy enough ready to play and compete in this game.” Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports “Well, there’s four of them that I didn’t like, and I’ve turned them in. I don’t see them. Then there’s three that – two were intentional to try to back us up to punt and give Oscar (Chapman) a little more room to try to pin them deep. The false start can’t happen. We had one of those. I’m trying to remember what the others were. There was a holding call on a pass play that was probably legit. So, I mean, it was a mixed bag. You can’t have 10 penalties though, for whatever reason. It put us behind the chains. And I thought we controlled the second quarter. I think we had it for 12 minutes and came away with three points. I think that defines the game. You control the ball 12 minutes in a quarter, you’ve got to get some points. We certainly felt like we were in field goal range at least – forget touchdowns – let’s just say we were in field goal range on four different occasions and got knocked out, either because of penalties or a sack, after that. That’s really where the game… and then the seven-minute span in the third quarter, where we did not get any first downs and they got explosive plays, for whatever reason. I think just flipped the game. So, can’t have the 10 penalties, and that’s not typically who we are, and we got to get that cleaned up. It’s good to see us not turn it over.” Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports “We’re still kind of wading through that, but that’s probably where we’ll land this week also.” Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics “Practice was really good last week. He is really sharp in practice, last week particularly. We keep hoping to see that translate into the games. It is a combination, it’s not all Payton. But sometimes it is. He owns it. We had a good meeting last night. We have to try this week to get a plan in place and execute. It falls on Philip (Montgomery) and his staff and on me.” Logan Riely/Getty Images “Well certainly with more consistent play, but there are times I feel like where we’ve let both Payton (Thorne) and Robby (Ashford) or Holden (Geriner) down. Because of all the other components that go into the passing game, that is where I’m determined to help get fixed this week before you give some final grade on quarterback play. When Robby came in, I thought he made two really nice throws on two deeps balls and I thought the routes were not run correctly. I know the quarterbacks and coaches get the blame. The coaches, we deserve it and the quarterbacks don’t always deserve it. Again, I’ve said we are a work in progress with the roster that we have. I’ve always had that in my mind. I kind of divide up the season up. There is season one which is the season going up to the open week. We have a lot of evaluating to do that open week as to how you move forward from there.” Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers “It’s a combination. It’s a plethora of responsibility, but ultimately, it lands in my lap and the lap of the offensive coaches to make sure the routes are run at the correct depth, with the correct releases, against the correct coverage. Then obviously, protection has to be good. It’s very hard to do that in third-and-long situations against the talented defensive front that you see in this league. There were some times where the ball should’ve come out and it didn’t. I think the responsibility lies in a lot of different places. But we also had a great third down throw, that put us back in scoring position, that we didn’t catch. It’s a combination of things. But ultimately, like I said, it lies with us, the coaching staff, to get those things fixed.” The Montgomery Advertiser “Damari (Alston) will be out for a period of time for sure. They are doing more tests today with that, but he had a dislocated shoulder for sure and sometimes those things can heal on their own. Other times they require some more work, and we really don’t know. (Donovan) Kaufman tried, but just kept being gimpy with the ankle and we’ll have to see how he is day to day. (Zion) Puckett obviously left with a shoulder and that really hurt us. He was doing a good job keeping us on the same page with our coverages and that really cost us two touchdowns. We had to move (Caleb) Wooden to our nickel position because J.D. Rhym couldn’t play and we were already without Keionte (Scott) and Kaufman. That really took a toll and hurt us there but, all those guys will be day-to-day. I don’t think it’s anything that will keep them out a significant amount of time.” Logan Riely/Getty Images “I loved the game plan and thought we ran the ball really well in the first two quarters. Had some explosive runs. Again, controlled the entire second quarter with the run game and just didn’t convert any drives for the reasons I’ve already mentioned. The second half game plan could have been better, particularly in the third quarter. But I felt good about the first half. We made some mistakes that hurt us on a few calls that should’ve been executed. Obviously, we haven’t coached them well enough. I thought there would have been even more explosive plays. We have to transition and block better at the perimeter and that would’ve made those 10-yard runs and 20-yard runs. We still got a lot of coaching to do on that side of the ball, but I thought the game plan was really solid when you look at the film. People were running open. On the routes that were designed, we either didn’t have enough time or misread a wheel route that was probably a touchdown. We would overthrow it. We had a seam route. (Tyler) Fromm running wide open and missed that. We got to make those plays when we have them. A lot of those designs, we either got to coach it better or we got to execute it better. It’s a combination.” Todd Kirkland/Getty Images “Well, I don’t want to quote something that is inaccurate. It’s the oldest rivalry in the South for sure. I don’t know about nationally. Am I saying that correctly? I don’t sense that it has the hatred that is in some other rivalries I’ve been a part of. Nonetheless, I think its intense. I’ll find out. I’m not big on hate. I’m big on that this game means so much to so many people so we should compete in a way out of love for our people. Not necessarily for hate to other people. That’s kind of the way I operate. I hope we compete because we love Auburn and it means something to the Auburn people to compete against Georgia. That’ll be my approach. Love is a great motivator for me.” Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports “We love play action. The week before we were very productive in the RPO game. This week we threw zero RPO’s. That is not something I am happy about. I probably am where I am today because I brought the RPO game to this conference or one of the first people would say. That sounded bad. I don’t want to sound like I created the RPO world or anything. But I do think I was one of the first to bring it to this game with tempo. We have gotten away from that. I do not really understand that. We have got to figure out our identity. Who we really are and what can Payton do? What can Robby do? What can Holden do? I know people do not want to hear it. They want success now and to win every single game. I get all of that. This is not my first rodeo taking over a program that has struggled. Certainly not at all fazed. Hungrier than ever to move forward and get better, and we will. Some of that is going to help with recruiting. In the meantime, you’ve got to get the ones you have better. That is our job. For us to be all over the map, one week you throw effectively and the next week we don’t. Why? We have to figure that out.” Photo: Walker White, 247Sports “I do not know if we will have enough tickets for all of the recruits that want to come. I am glad I am not having to deal with that. Recruiting staff is working diligently. We have official visits; we have top kids here unofficially. It will be all hands on deck, Auburn putting their best foot forward, which I know we will. Our people are incredible. Our place is incredible to watch a game. Now we have to make sure they see what Auburn is really about.” Joshua L Jones/OnlineAthens “I played Kirby his first year (at Georgia) when I was still at Ole Miss. I know kind of what he inherited because I coached in that game. I know what the outcome was. It is a great testament to his vision, his work ethic, his staff, his administration being patient to have the year he needed to, to recruit. The dividends are paying off greatly. They are one of the gold standards in college football right now. They are recruiting a top-three class every single year. That is hard to compete with and they are well coached. You have to give them credit. I know it’s a rivalry game, but the truth is the truth. He has built a dang good football program there. It means a lot of things. It means he has the support from the administration and the fans.” John Reed-USA TODAY Sports “I don’t get to decide that. The good thing is I don’t worry about that anymore. I used to but I am older now. I am comfortable in the way that we are building this program and mentoring young people and teaching them the lessons that football teaches for life. The wins will come; I believe that firmly. Whatever people’s patience level is, I can’t control that so I can’t worry about it, and I really don’t worry about it. I worry about the people in this building and our administration. I worry about our fans too, but I can’t control their patience level. If I can be really candid, I think that it is kind of ridiculous that those are already discussions that in and around our kids. It’s not something we worry about, but they should expect us to improve. That’s a reasonable expectation and I think our kids have played hard. I’ll let the other people that really matter decide their patience level. I know that there’s a lot of programs that have taken three to four to five years to get where they are now. They’re probably happy that they did that. But everybody has to decide their own feelings on that, and I can’t worry about that.” Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK “I don’t get to decide that. The good thing is I don’t worry about that anymore. I used to but I am older now. I am comfortable in the way that we are building this program and mentoring young people and teaching them the lessons that football teaches for life. The wins will come; I believe that firmly. Whatever people’s patience level is, I can’t control that so I can’t worry about it, and I really don’t worry about it. I worry about the people in this building and our administration. I worry about our fans too, but I can’t control their patience level. If I can be really candid, I think that it is kind of ridiculous that those are already discussions that in and around our kids. It’s not something we worry about, but they should expect us to improve. That’s a reasonable expectation and I think our kids have played hard. I’ll let the other people that really matter decide their patience level. I know that there’s a lot of programs that have taken three to four to five years to get where they are now. They’re probably happy that they did that. But everybody has to decide their own feelings on that, and I can’t worry about that.” The Montgomery Advertiser “We’re searching truthfully, that was one of the things. I think we have to get more swagger on the offensive side. The most positive guy by far at this point is Luke Deal. I think he’s the one that has a good grasp on how this league plays out, and how challenging they are for 60 minutes, and how you can have three bad possessions in a row. We’re not the only ones that have those. Yet, you have to maintain this positive attitude that the next one could be the one that matters. He’s definitely been that for the offensive side.” The Montgomery Advertiser “That’s a balancing act. I’m always truthful with our team. I tell them every Monday and our truth meeting this afternoon. This game, you’re the favorite, you should win it. This game is a toss-up. You’ll be the underdog, and here is how we’re going to win it. I’ve done that everywhere I’ve ever been. I think it creates transparency and authenticity. At the same time, I tell them to be very clear on the fact that I’ve never walked into a game thinking we can’t win it, and they shouldn’t either. I give them plenty of examples that you’re not supposed to take a Liberty team and beat Arkansas either. Or Virginia Tech. Or Ole Miss when we beat Alabama. But we’ve done that, and we can do it here too.” Logan Riely/Getty Images “I am trying to remember the other games, but we drove it right down the field the week before (vs. Samford). We did not get it in the end zone and threw it on the first and second down, then we had a penalty. I don’t know that we had another possession in the first quarter in that game that I can remember, because we went right down the field on every possession. Obviously, the game plan, other than the tight red zone, was fine. In this game we rattled off four first downs in the first drive and the second drive the same way. In this game we got in field goal range, and we shot ourselves in the foot with either a penalty or a sack. Maybe we have to evaluate when we need to go to more max protection, so we will have to look at that. We should have had points in the first quarter, but we didn’t. That has got to get fixed.”

247sports.com A combination of things hindering Auburns quarterback play Jason Caldwell 4–5 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—Coming off a game where Auburn quarterbacks Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner combined to complete just 9-23 passes for 56 yards in a 27-10 loss at Texas A&M, coach Hugh Freeze said there will be plenty of discussion about the position this week and heading into next week’s bye week. Where does Auburn go next? That’s something that Freeze said will have to be determined this week and moving forward, but as of Monday he feels like it will probably be Thorne as the starter for the Tigers against Georgia. That doesn’t mean there aren’t questions to be answered, starting this week in practice. After going back and watching Saturday’s game again, Freeze said it was a combination of issues that kept them from being successful. “There’s times I feel like we’ve let both Payton and Robby and Holden or whoever the quarterback is, I feel like we have let them down because of all the other components that go into the passing game,” Freeze said. “That is where I’m determined to try and help get fixed this week before you give some final grade on a quarterback’s play. It’s just like when Robby came in, I thought he made two really nice throws on two deep balls. And I thought the routes were not run correctly. “So I know the quarterbacks and coaches get the blame. Coaches, we deserve it. Quarterbacks don’t always probably deserve it. Again, I’ve said we’re still a work in progress with the roster that we have. And I’ve always kind of had in my mind — I kind of divide the season up. So there’s a season one where, which is the season up until the open week. Then you’ve got a lot of evaluating to do that open week as to how you move forward from there.” In two games against Power5 opponents, Auburn’s quarterbacks are just 19-40 overall. That’s not acceptable when you consider what’s ahead for the Tigers, but Freeze reiterates that it’s not all on the play of the quarterbacks themselves. “It’s a plethora of responsibilities, but ultimately it lands in my lap and the lap of the offensive coaches to make sure the routes are run at the correct depth with the correct releases against the correct coverage,” Freeze said. “And then, obviously, the protection has to be good, which is very hard to do in 3rd-and-long situations against a talented defensive front that you see in this league. “And there were some times when the ball should have come out and it didn’t. So I think the responsibility lies in a lot of different places. But he also had a great third-down throw that puts us back in scoring position that we didn’t catch. So it’s a combination of things. But ultimately it lies with us, the coaching staff, to get those things fixed.” With Thorne expected to get the start again this weekend against Georgia, Freeze said the Michigan State transfer has to play much better than he has this season, but it’s also on the coaches to put him in a position to be successful. “His practice was really good last week,” Freeze said. “I mean, he's really sharp in practice, really sharp in practice. Last week particularly was really, really sharp in practice. And we keep hoping to see that translate into the games. And again, it's a combination. “It's not all Payton, but sometimes it is and he owns it. We had a good meeting last night and so we just gotta try this week to get a plan in place that all execute and all understand. And that falls on Phillip (Montgomery) and his staff and ultimately on me.” Kickoff for Saturday’s game against Georgia is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

247sports.com Jason Caldwells Monday morning quarterback column Jason Caldwell 9–12 minutes Thoughts on Auburn football, around the SEC and Auburn hoops. A little bit of everything Anytime you play like Auburn’s offense did on Saturday, it’s going to be a combination of things that cause the issues. Much like Cal, the biggest culprit to me is still mistakes. The Tigers actually ran the ball pretty darn well with the running backs, but mistakes and missed plays kept them from breaking through. Those aren’t the kinds of things this team can get away with and still expect to win, especially on the road. We’ve talked about two holding calls that killed drives and knocked Auburn out of at least field goal range, but there were also three throws that could have been made that could have made a big difference in the game. On the first possession, Var Johnson is crossing and could have picked up a first down, but Payton Thorne’s third down throw sailed over his head. There is no question that Jay Fair is at least picking up 30+ yards and could have scored on a perfectly timed call, but the throw was off the mark. On another, Thorne waited too late to hit Tyler Fromm down the seam and it was high as well. This isn’t all on Thorne, however. The offense did a terrible job of picking up blitzes from the Texas A&M defense. That’s on the quarterback to recognize, but also the offensive line to protect along with the backs, and the wide receivers to recognize and give the quarterback a route to throw in a smaller window. It still comes back to one thing however, this roster isn’t good enough to overcome those mistakes and win games against teams in the Southeastern Conference. We have seen it work on defense in the past, but cutting back the offense to allow for better execution may be the way to go with so many players still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the system. Around college football There is no question in my mind at the moment that the best college football in the country resides in the Pac-12. I’m not sure the national champion will come out of that league, but there’’s little doubt in my mind that it’s the deepest league in the country at the moment. Much of the reason for that is because of the play of the quarterbacks in the league, but guys like Dan Lanning at Oregon and Kalen DeBoer at Washington have added speed on defense to change their teams in a big way. If I’m making a Top 10 list of teams in the country at the moment, I would have Washington, USC, Oregon and Utah all in the group. That’s not something I would have ever said just a few years ago. In the Southeastern Conference, I still see issues with every team in the league at the moment. Georgia is the most talented and most capable of winning when they don’t have their best stuff, but the Bulldogs aren’t the physically dominant group they have been in the past few years. Is it still good enough to run through this league? I think so. LSU is starting to look like the offense that can compete for a championship, but I’m still not sold on them defensively after Arkansas shredded them on Saturday night. Alabama is going to be a tough out because of the talent on the roster, but they’ll struggle to score against better defenses throughout the year as well. The sleeper could be Kentucky. They’re quietly 4-0 and have Florida at home this weekend before a trip to Georgia. Going to be interesting to see if they can knock off the Gators at home. If so, the Wildcats could be headed for another 9-win season. Hoops there it is On Tuesday we get the opportunity to meet with Bruce Pearl and several players as the Auburn men’s basketball team opens practices for the 2023-24 season. I was thinking about it as we were riding home from the Atlanta airport on Sunday, but even with 20 transfers on the Auburn football roster, it’s still many of the same names we have gotten used to seeing over the years. In basketball, adding just three or four guys is a huge overhaul when you only have 13 (or 12) scholarship players on a roster. That’s what we’ll see again from this team with true freshman point guard Aden Holloway just one of the newcomers that will likely play a key role for the Tigers along with shooting guard Denver Jones from FIU, small forward Chad Baker-Mazara from juco (San Diego State), forward Chaney Johnson from UAH and junior college forward Addarin Scott. That’s almost half of the scholarship roster made up of new players. How quickly can they get will be one of the most important questions for this team with one of the toughest preseason schedules I can remember for an Auburn team. The Tigers play Baylor in South Dakota on November 7, Notre Dame in Brooklyn on November 16 with a potential matchup against Oklahoma State the next day. A home game against Virginia Tech on November 29 keeps it going before playing Indiana in Atlanta on December 9. UNC-Asheville comes to town on the 13th with USC on the 17th. Even games against Chattanooga and Penn to close out the pre-conference schedule on December 30 and January 2 will be a challenge. This team will definitely know where it stands heading into SEC play.

Auburn’s offense has a QB problem. But does this roster have an answer? Published: Sep. 25, 2023, 6:00 a.m. 7–8 minutes Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne stood by himself. His arms were crossed, standing on the sideline behind Avery Jones. He stood there watching Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner warm up to go into the game after a first half and some change where Thorne had been sacked five times, overthrown multiple wide-open receivers and, as head coach Hugh Freeze suggested, consistently made poor decisions. Thorne completed six of 12 passes for 44 yards. His longest completion was 13 yards. He was totally ineffective. “We had people open,” Freeze said after Auburn’s 27-10 loss Saturday to Texas A&M at Kyle Field. “And we either missed them, or the pressure distracted us, it seemed. I’ve gotta watch the film and see exactly what was going on to cause that. But we certainly missed a few opportunities in the passing game.” So Thorne stood by himself as he watched as Ashford and Geriner went into the game. This wasn’t the quarterback rotation Auburn has used throughout the season so far with Ashford coming in for specific packages or situations. Thorne had been benched. Benching the starting quarterback in a job he never secured further opens the chance for a renewed quarterback battle that never seemed to end in the first place, based on Freeze’s comments in press conferences. And Auburn doesn’t have a lot of better options. “Offensively, we’re searching,” Freeze said. “And we’ve gotta find some answers.” These words from Freeze stood out. They’re the words of a coach who appears to be questioning where to go from here. The answer isn’t obvious. Quarterback play wasn’t the only reason why Auburn lost to Texas A&M. No matter what quarterback was playing, they didn’t get a lot of help. Auburn’s completely reshaped offensive line played its worst game of the season. All five of Auburn’s offensive line starters were penalized during the game. They allowed seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss. The wide receivers hardly found much separation to create passing windows as Auburn threw for a total of 56 yards in the game, completing nine of 26 passes. Ashford had 25 rushing yards on eight carries. He completed one of four passes for four yards. Geriner completed two of seven passes for eight yards. In the second half, Auburn had four consecutive three-and-outs. Those four drives totaled -11 yards. It didn’t matter who was playing quarterback. And it would be much easier to throw out the tape as bad, if not for the patterns of consistent issues throughout this season that Auburn was finally punished for in its first loss of the season. Two weeks ago in the late hours of the night after a 14-10 win over Cal, Freeze sat down outside the team’s locker room and said something quite similar about Thorne. “I didn’t think Payton was throwing it well, truthfully,” Freeze said that night. “You know? Now, the last drive, he did. He threw a great wheel route and a great fade ball. We’ve just got to get more consistent with that.” Two days later back in Auburn Freeze again echoed the same point. He said Thorne had to play better. In both the Cal and Texas A&M games, Thorne completed fewer than 10 passes. He bounced back against Samford, albeit that will likely the worst defense Auburn will face all season. After the Texas A&M loss, Auburn has the worst passing offense in the SEC and the second-worst total offense in the conference, per NCAA stats. Thus far, Auburn’s passing offense has produced 693 passing yards combined from the quarterback trio. Nearly 300 of those yards came from Thorne in one game against Samford. Thorne was successful in 2021 at Michigan State when he had an NFL running back to hand off to with Kenneth Walker III and a reliable offensive line. He had help. He hasn’t had that at Auburn. He came to Auburn in the summer and only had fall camp to work his way into the team. It never came as much of a surprise he would be named the starter, but it was clear his quick adjustment might be a challenge. “You’ve gotta remember, he wasn’t here in the spring,” offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said on Aug. 7. “Some of the things that he’s picked up on, we’ve gotta get everybody else around that to be on the same page with him.” And from the moment he was named the starter, it was clear that wasn’t permanent. When announcing Thorne’s job, Freeze said the separation wasn’t Thorne’s play as much as it was his leadership. “We can win games with any of the three,” Freeze said on Aug. 17. “And trust me, once someone gets that job they have to hold onto it. Hopefully the others work every day to press to make me feel like I need to second-guess that. That’s the hope.” The next problem lies in exactly what to do going forward. The message sent to Thorne on Saturday was not one of much confidence in the quarterback. For the inconsistencies and limitations Thorne has shown, he is still — by far — Auburn’s most experienced quarterback even though that experience hasn’t been in the SEC. As Freeze said, Thorne had to continue to earn the job. He hasn’t done that. But Auburn’s next game is No. 1 ranked Georgia, and this creates Auburn conundrum. Start Thorne again and give him another chance? Go to Ashford, and use a run-heavy offense because he has never proven to be a reliable thrower nor has he had a consistent role in this offense? Be drastic and go to Geriner and give him his first career start against arguably the best defense in college football? None of those options feel like a sure thing. Or for Freeze’s long-term view of the program which centers on recruiting to fix the talent gap he knows Auburn has, does that answer still sit a year away with four-star quarterback commit Walker White? On the surface, Auburn appears stuck. It would take one of the quarterbacks to take a big leap forward or a possible restructure of the offense to figure things out. With Auburn’s next three games coming against Georiga, LSU and Ole Miss, this isn’t the time or the opponents to figure things out. The performance Auburn had against Texas A&M will likely mean losses in all three of those games. As Freeze said, it’s time to keep searching. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

PMARSHONAU Five thoughts on Auburn football Phillip Marshall 5–6 minutes THORNE DESERVES RESPECT Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne deserves better. He has been called “scared.” On social media, he has been called “nervous” and other uncomplimentary things as if someone can see inside his head. The strange need to take to social media for phony outrage directed at college football players is bad for the player, bad for the team, bad for everyone. That goes far beyond expressing an opinion about how someone played. It’s not the only reason, but it is one of the reasons Bo Nix is lighting it up at Oregon now. His family, particularly his mother, was deeply hurt by that. I don’t know if Thorne is Auburn’s answer. I don’t even know if he will start Saturday against Georgia. I know he works hard. I know he studies the game. I know he was respected enough by his teammates that they elected him a team captain though he had only been in town a few months. Mostly, I know he wants to succeed far more than anyone taking to social media to beat up on him wants him to succeed. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had to deal with the same things the past two weeks. It is, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous. But it’s not just social media and not just in recent years. Brandon Cox once was booed in his own stadium, and he remembers it not-so-fondly to this day. Jason Campbell’s mother stopped attending games because of the vile things she heard said about her son. It is extremely counterproductive. No coach is going to change quarterbacks or make any other decisions because social media posters or anyone else believe he should. Yes, I know I am old-fashioned. I know that’s the way it is in this day of social media. But it shouldn’t be that way. WHAT COULD BE DIFFERENT SATURDAY What will be different for Auburn on Saturday against Georgia? I don’t know, of course, but I have some thoughts. Running backs are clearly Auburn’s most potent weapons on offense. The offensive line – like most – is better at run blocking than at pass blocking. I expect those running backs to get more opportunities than they did last Saturday at Texas A&M, when they averaged almost 8 yards per carry. According to Auburn insiders, the video of Saturday’s game showed wide receivers running open throughout the game. Head coach Hugh Freeze said as much after the game. They just didn’t get the ball. I expect that to be a real focus this week in practice. I won’t be surprised if there is a change at quarterback or if there is not. ROBERTS GETTING IT DONE Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts has made a believer out of me. Despite having what could have been a crippling run of injuries, his defense has showed up to play and has played well in every game. There might come a day when those injuries can’t be overcome and Auburn has a bad day on offense. But it hasn’t happened yet. CEILING HASN’T CHANGED I said before the season that I thought this Auburn team’s ceiling was 8-4, but that 7-5 would be a success for first-year head coach Hugh Freeze. I still believe that. I believe Auburn will beat Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and New Mexico State. That will be six wins. I believe Auburn will certainly have an even or better chance to beat Ole Miss at home. Winning at Arkansas is certainly possible. If Auburn loses one of those games, getting to eight will mean beating Georgia, LSU or Alabama. Is that likely to happen? Probably not. But it is certainly not impossible. WILL THE LIGHT COME ON? You never know when the light will come on for players and even for coaches. In 2013, Auburn won its first three games but looked nothing like a champion. It beat Washington State and Arkansas State and scored in the final 10 seconds to beat Mississippi State at home. Then it went to LSU, trailed 21-0 at halftime and lost 35-21. But the Auburn locker room was surprising. Players were upset, and they were angry. They were convinced they should have won. Auburn had dominated the second half, mostly behind zone reads run by quarterback Nick Marshall and running back Tre Mason. During the off-week that followed head coach Gus Malzahn and his staff looked hard at what they were doing on offense. They decided featuring the zone read with Marshall and Mason, both dynamic runners, was the way to go. And the Tigers took off. They didn’t lose again until the BCS Championship Game. Ironically, Auburn has an open date after Saturday’s game against Georgia. I don’t expect a repeat of 2013, but it is certainly plausible to believe that, by the end of the season, you will see a team that looks completely different than the one that lost to Texas A&M last Saturday.

si.com LOOK: Computer model favors Auburn, Hugh Freeze over Georgia Bulldogs Lance Dawe 3–4 minutes Betting lines currently favor Georgia over Auburn this weekend by about 14 points. Considering the Tigers' disappointing offensive performance against Texas A&M this weekend, the line makes sense. The Bulldogs' talent in the trenches alone should aid them in a road victory on The Plains. However, there's a computer model out there that currently disagrees. College Football Nerds, an excellent YouTube channel that does a phenomenal job analyzing and breaking down not only just college football as a whole, but individual matchups through numbers, has a computer model that they rely on to help predict games as the season goes on. The channel puts an emphasis on waiting until later in the schedule to truly listen to what the model has to say about big games, as the larger sample size allows the model to provide more accurate results. We are just a few weeks into the season and the model has a shocking projection for week five. It believes Auburn will beat Georgia this weekend. According to the model, the Tigers are favored to win 30.7 to 30.6. The fact that it's even close to a 50/50 matchup is surprising. Why is this the case? CFB Nerds explained in a tweet: - Georgia is yet to allow 3.5 yards/carry in FBS play, but - Every opponent set their FBS season high in rushing vs Georgia So therefore, Georgia's opponents are *so* bad, that dominating them appears below-average defensively. Auburn has had pretty solid success running the football this season, whether it be with their stable of running backs, or with QB Payton Thorne romping for over 120 yards against Samford. Even though the model is drunk on Georgia's opponents having "success" in the running game (even though not only have they not averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry against the Bulldogs, none of them have eclipsed 29 rushing attempts, which wouldn't even be top 100 in FBS) could we see the Tigers' running game keep them close with Georgia this weekend? It seems unlikely. Auburn has yet to figure out their passing attack and the A&M game was proof. If Thorne, Robby Ashford, or even Holden Geriner can't throw the football underneath Philip Montgomery's play calling, should there be an expectation for the Tigers to have any success on the ground against a strong Georgia front? We will see. Auburn faces off against Georgia in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry this Saturday at 2:30 pm on CBS.

forget the freeze i want coach to bring the dang heat at practice. all the experts claim freeze runs a qb friendly "O" but does montgomery do the same thing? and it was said there were not enough quick throws to slow down the pass rush but i have no idea if it was not called our we missed it.i can take a loss but when it looks ugly with mechanics it upsets me. but maybe they have had time to jell. i think this moving linemen in and out has hurt us. having players moving around and playing different positions bothers me. it might not matter. i am a fan and no expert. plus i woke up kinda sad again so i took a gummy and i need to stop or i will talk all dang day.............

nice card. i bought one of the cheaper ones but i prefer the guys wearing the blue jerseys so i always try to go for that...........

some one was saying he was not set correctly with his feet when he was throwing the ball. i cannot remember if it was rg3 saying it or an article i posted saturday or sunday. but perusing the rant ALhunter said this: Thorne tends to rotate his shoulders when moving up in the pocket. It makes it impossible for him to deliver the ball. Pocket has to be absolutely perfect or he starts shuffling and turning his shoulders / patting the ball. . he says he is completely healthy from last year. i would think as a coaches son his mechanics would be right but this is from a fan who is not an expert. so is he regressing or was he never that good? the year before he got hurt he played well winning some huge games. i just do not get it. and rather than folks just taking shots at him i would like to know the reasons this is happening. i bet they prep holden up a lot this week even tho it is ga and could get rough. robby was not good either. how do you have a a wide open receiver and over throw him fifteen yards? that looked like a sure touchdown.

i read his book and he mentioned a couple of times he was trash talking made laugh out loud for realz. i have his auto!