9.4.23 Football Articles

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USA TODAY Sports names Hugh Freeze a ‘winner’ following first game at Auburn

Taylor Jones

Sun, September 3, 2023 at 11:30 AM CDT·2 min read

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The first game day of the Hugh Freeze era ended just as sweetly as it began.

Freeze said after Auburn’s 59-14 win over UMass that his day got started with several text messages from past colleagues at Ole Miss, Arkansas State, and Liberty, and it continued with his family getting to take part in Tiger Walk. After the game, the celebration continued as upwards of 30 family members joined Freeze at his home for a postgame dinner.

Auburn fans call the first day of a new era a success, and it is relieving to see that members of the national media share the same sentiment.

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports released his “Week 1 college football winners and losers” list Sunday morning and the Tigers head coach has made it to the winners column.

The Freeze era at Auburn kicked off with a 59-14 win against Massachusetts, which was fresh off a Week 0 upset of New Mexico State. While three quarterbacks combined for a pedestrian 203 yards on 14 of 25 passing, most from starter Payton Thorne, six players ran for at least 30 yards as the Tiger racked up 289 rushing yards and six scores.

It is refreshing to see Auburn on the positive side of Myerberg’s list, which has not been the case over the last two years. Freeze addressed quarterback performance Saturday, in which he said that Thorne “made three mistakes.” Robby Ashford showed his athleticism by scoring three touchdowns in the special red zone package designed for him.

The bright side is that neither quarterback committed a turnover, which is a positive heading into the rest of the season. The Tigers will work on their craft this week before traveling to California for a late-night showdown with the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday night.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

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saturdaydownsouth.com

 

Hugh Freeze reminds Auburn players to always celebrate victories in life and football

Keith Farner | 15 hours ago

~3 minutes

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Hugh Freeze got his first win as Auburn’s coach on Saturday, and part of his message to his players after the game was to always celebrate when that happens.

“Don’t you ever in life, don’t you ever in football, don’t you ever with your family, don’t you ever, ever, ever forget to celebrate when you have victories,” Freeze said. “I don’t care how it comes, they’re hard to come by in life. They’re hard to come by in life, they’re hard to come in college football, they’re hard to come by. So man, you celebrate it.”

Auburn got the win thanks in part to 3 first-half touchdowns from Robby Ashford as he was used in red-zone packages to complement new starter and Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne. Thorne threw for 141 yards and a touchdown in his first Auburn game.

As Freeze suggested earlier in the week, Auburn would be a running team this season, and Saturday showed some of that potential.

Damari Alston scored a rushing touchdown on the Tigers’ first drive, and freshman Jeremiah Cobb broke a 42-yard touchdown run on the second carry of his college career. The Tigers rushed for 294 yards.

 

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South. Follow on Twitter.

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn is surging for elite 2025 RB Alvin Henderson

JD McCarthy

~2 minutes

Whenever Auburn running back coach Cadillac Williams identifies a running back that he wants the chances are pretty good that Auburn will land that player.

There’s also a great chance that they will produce when they make it to the Plains. It worked with Jaquez Hunter and it’s early but Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb both look like future studs for Auburn.

Buy Tigers Tickets

The player that Williams and Auburn have singled out in the 2025 recruiting cycle is Alvin Henderson and they are now surging for him.

Henderson was back on Auburn’s campus for the season opener against UMass, the fourth time he has visited since they hired Hugh Freeze.

This visit was enough for On3’s Chad Simmons to log a prediction for Henderson to commit to Auburn. That prediction gives them an 88.2% chance of landing him, according to On3’s recruiting prediction machine.

Henderson is the No. 88 overall player and No. 8 running back in the On3 industry ranking. The Elba product is also the No. 9 player from Alabama.

He is coming off of a dominant sophomore season in which he rushed for 2,636 yards and 47 touchdowns in 12 games.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy

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si.com

LB Eugene Asante shares what worked for Auburn's defense on Saturday

Zac Blackerby

~2 minutes

Eugene Asante looked great in Auburn's season opener.

The former North Carolina Tar Heel started his second season on the Plains and was a fixture of the Auburn defense in Saturday's win over the UMass Minutemen. 

He led Auburn with six tackles, he was also credited with half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss in the defensive effort.

“Overall, I think the defense performed well for the first game," Asante said. "We came out and showed a little glimpse of what we could do. There are detailed aspects that we need to fine-tune, but other than that the guys gave a lot of effort, and if we can continue to fine-tune those aspects, we can be really special.”

UMass marched down the field with their first possession of the game to tie the game at 7-7. Auburn's defense buckled down and shut down the scoring until late in the action.

“We settled into the game a little more," Asante explained. "On that first drive, a lot of guys were antsy for the first game, which comes with a very hyped crowd. The first team settled down and was able to make adjustments by playing hard and loose."

The Auburn Tigers defense will have a bigger task at hand when they travel to take on a Cal offense on the road this Saturday. The Golden Bears went on the road to play at North Texas. Cal put up 58 points in their season opener.

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247sports.com

PMARSHONAU Sunday reflections from Auburn and beyond

Phillip Marshall

6–8 minutes

SEC blowouts, Deion's debut, what we learned and much more

Bigger challenges ahead for SEC teams

Lots of teams showed up on SEC campuses on Saturday to pick up their six-figure checks, but first they had to take some serious beatdowns. Ole Miss beat Mercer 73-7, Alabama beat Middle Tennessee State 56-7, Arkansas beat Western Carolina 56-13, Mississippi State beat Southeast Louisiana 48-7, Georgia beat Tennessee-Martin 48-7, Vanderbilt beat Alabama A&M 47-13, Texas A&M beat New Mexico 52-10, Kentucky beat Ball State 44-14. Auburn beat UMass 59-14. Tennessee didn’t play a give-me-my-check game. It played Virginia, an ACC bottom-feeder, and romped 47-13.

Only South Carolina played a real team. And Gamecocks’ quarterback Spencer Rattler was sacked nine times in a 31-17 loss to North Carolina. Blowouts are fun, even against outmatched teams. But, for all those SEC outfits, much tougher days are ahead.

Opening act of the Sanders show a roaring success

Like it or not, the big story of the day Saturday was Colorado going to Fort Worth and beating No. 17 TCU in Deion Sanders’ first game as head coach.

It was a remarkable performance by a team made up almost entirely of newcomers – players and coaches.

Travis Hunter, a former 5-star who made headlines when he signed with Sanders and Jackson State, had a day like you rarely see. He played both ways, logging an astonishing 129 snaps on a 98-degree day. He made impact plays on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of the head coach, put on quite a show with more than 500 yards passing. For at least a day, he answered those who wondered if being a star in the SWAC would mean being a star on the big stage.

That Colorado is far better than last season’s 1-11 team is beyond dispute. How much better? That remains to be seen.

Colorado did not look like much on defense. They were not able to run the ball with any consistency, gaining just 55 yards. They gave up 262 rushing yards and 279 passing yards. TCU, frankly, didn’t look anything like the team that got to the College Football Playoff last season.

Sanders entered his postgame press conference proclaiming “I got receipts!” Not being up on modern slang, I’m not sure what that means. Some humility – even just a little – would go a long way toward making Sanders less of a polarizing figure. But humility is not his game.

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What we learned from Auburn's opener

What did we learn from Auburn's romp over UMass? Not a lot in terms of how the Tigers will stand up against the behemoths on the schedule. But there were sights and sounds of significance.

--The Tigers did not get a presnap penalty or have a turnover. That's impressive in any game. It's particularly impressive in a season-opener with a new head coach and dozens of new players.

--Hope has been rekindled in Auburn people. That showed in the largest crowd in Jordan-Hare Stadium history.

--After hearing them talk, it is clear Auburn players are strongly connected to their coaching staff.

--Head coach Hugh Freeze is strongly connected to Auburn.

--Good days on the field are coming. Will they come this season? We still don't know.

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FCS teams can no longer keep up

It used to be that FCS teams occasionally knocked off FBS teams, even Power 5 teams. With the transfer portal often taking away the top talent from FCS programs, those opportunities appear to be dwindling. Over the weekend, FCS teams were 0-42 against FBS opponents.

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Why travel across the country?

What is Auburn doing traveling across the country to play Cal? In reality, it doesn’t make much sense. It’s a grueling trip to play a team good enough to beat you. Why do it?

I’ve said it many times: If I was an AD in the SEC, my team would never lose a nonconference game. If you are good enough to be a contender, the SEC schedule provides all the opportunity you need. The one exception might be one of those made-for-TV season-openers against another power team on a neutral field.

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Former Malzahn assistants run their own shows

What do SMU coach Rhett Lashlee and Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham have in common? They were both offensive coordinators at Auburn. Though neither was officially fired, both were not wanted back by Malzahn – Lashlee after the 2016 season and Dillingham after the 2019 season, his only Auburn season.

If you count Eliah Drinkwitz, who was an Auburn quality control coach in 2010 and 2011, three of Malzahn’s former Auburn staffers are or will be next season Power 5 head coaches.

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Sunday college football

I watched some of Rutgers’ season-opening 24-7 win over Northwestern on Sunday. When they showed the stands, my first thought was what if they had a football game and no one showed up. The crowd was pitiful. I was curious to see how Northwestern would look after all that has happened. The answer: Like a team that might be fortunate to equal last season’s 1-11 record.

Oregon State, one of the two Power 5 orphans, went on the road and dominated San Jose State in much more convincing fashion than USC did at home last week.

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Elijah McAllister, a transfer from Vanderbilt, played at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time Saturday. And he was blown away.

“I heard so much about it, and it was everything I could have imagined and more – the energy of the fans and Tiger Walk," McAllister said. "It was just amazing. I’m so blessed to be here.”

Quarterback Robby Ashford was not surprised.

“It's the best atmosphere in the country," Ashford said. "I'll argue that with anyone. Our fans, the student section, everybody was great. Thankfully, we came out on the other end with a win. Hopefully, there's many more to come.”

Until next time ...

VIDEO: Breaking down Auburn's addition of DeAndre Carter

Breaking down Auburn's addition of massive offensive lineman DeAndre Carter.

It was an offensive line weekend for Auburn football recruiting, with the addition of 2025 tackle Spencer Dowland on Saturday and Top247 swing lineman DeAndre Carter on Sunday. For Carter, it was a long time coming after taking an official visit in June and then returning again for Big Cat Weekend when he decided that Auburn was the spot for him. 

Auburn Undercover's Christian Clemente breaks down the addition of Carter to Auburn's class and how we got to this point. Make sure to subscribe to the Auburn Undercover YouTube channel HERE.

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Auburn gets commitment from top OL recruit DeAndre Carter

Updated: Sep. 03, 2023, 1:30 p.m.|Published: Sep. 03, 2023, 1:05 p.m.

~3 minutes

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Auburn fans cheer during the second half of the game against the University of Massachusetts Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Auburn, Alabama. (Julie Bennett | preps@al.com) Julie Bennett | preps@al.comJulie Bennett | preps@al.com

DeAndre Carter, a class of 2024 four-star offensive lineman rated as the top interior prospect in the nation, announced his commitment to Auburn on Sunday after the season-opening win over UMass.

Carter was among Auburn’s top offensive line targets in this recruiting cycle and he is the first offensive lineman in the team’s 2024 class. At 6-foot-4, 340 pounds, Carter played left tackle at national powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.

But experts anticipate Carter will move and play on the interior in college. 247Sports ranks him as the nation’s best interior offensive line prospect. And at Mater Dei, Carter has already faced some of the top high school defenders in the country.

Overall, 247Sports ranks him as the 55th-best player in the 2024 class. He is the third highest-rated player in Auburn’s now 18-commit 2024 class behind five-star recruits Perry Thompson and Demarcus Riddick. Auburn’s 2024 class is still in the top 20 in the nation overall and the top 10 when adjusted for average player ranking, per 247Sports.

He picked Auburn over a group of finalists that included Texas and Michigan State.

Carter was on The Plains at Big Cat Weekend and watched as Auburn built recruiting momentum with 5-star wide receiver Perry Thompson’s poolside commitment to Auburn. Carter seemed to enjoy his visit to Auburn and received multiple “Crystal Ball” predictions for an Auburn commitment as the weekend came to a close.

Though his recruitment process to Auburn has all happened rather quickly. It hasn’t even been two months since Auburn offered Carter a scholarship. Carter took an official visit to Auburn on June 16 and was back on campus again for Big Cat Weekend on July 29.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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auburntigers.com

 

Auburn football notebook: Jaylin Simpson's takeaways

Auburn University Athletics

6–7 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – When the receiver he was covering started counting, Auburn defensive back Jaylin Simpson knew what that meant.

 "I read the receiver; I could tell what he was running from his first step. I knew he was counting his steps and usually when receivers count steps, they aren't really going deep," Simpson said. "I had a feel for it, and the formation, I kind of knew what was going on."

Simpson returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown 17 seconds into the second half Saturday in the Tigers' 59-14 victory vs. Massachusetts, racing toward the south end zone where students clad in white were waiting.

"All I saw was white," Simpson said. "It was beautiful, man. I keep replaying it in my head. It was a great feeling."

In the first half, Simpson recovered a fumble after Donovan Kaufman's strip sack and returned in 13 yards to set up the third of three Robby Ashford touchdown runs.

"A funky one. It was funny to me," Simpson said. "DK came around and stripped the quarterback. The O-linemen, those guys can't bend really well. They tried to scoop it up and couldn't. I don't know it was who kicked it, my eyes got big and the ball was right in front of my face."

Simpson downplayed his stellar performance that included his fourth career interception and first career fumble recovery.

"Just doing my job, doing what I'm coached to do," he said.

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES
After his first Auburn victory, head coach Hugh Freeze rolled Toomer's Corner with his family before heading home for celebratory sandwiches.

"In life and football, I think we all fail to celebrate victories," Freeze said. "I've made up my mind for the rest of my career, I'm going to enjoy at least for a few hours the fact that our team, our staff, found a way to win a football game in college.

"I don't care who you play, it's just not easy to win football games, so I want to enjoy that and I want our kids to, and I want them to learn to do that in life with their families and celebrate each other when those things happen."

SALUTING STAN
Before the game, Auburn honored former quarterback Stan White for his 22 seasons as the analyst for the Auburn Sports Network.

"This is awesome," said White, who quarterbacked the Tigers from 1990-93 before joining Auburn's radio crew from 2001-22. "I had such a blessed time calling the games over the last 22 straight years with the likes of Jim Fyffe, Rod Bramblett and Andy Burcham. It's great to have some family time."

Jason Campbell, who quarterbacked the Tigers from 2001-04, succeeded White in the press box this season.

"He's going to do a fantastic job," White said. "He's got that experience. He's going to step right in and keep the network going. I'm looking forward to hearing them for many years."

White will return to Pat Dye Field for the Ole Miss game on Oct. 21 when Auburn celebrates the 30^th anniversary of the unbeaten 1993 team.  

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

Players Mentioned

#9 Robby Ashford

QB 6' 3" Sophomore Liberal Arts

#5 Donovan Kaufman

S 5' 10" Junior Liberal Arts

#36 Jaylin Simpson

CB 6' 1" Senior Business

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i just read where Cal had 669 yards of total "O". it is a worry................

[bostic up the middle 82]

29 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i just read where Cal had 669 yards of total "O". it is a worry................

I'm with you there, fifty. My only Cal game was in 2019 vs. Oregon. We arrived two hours prior, as we would in Jordan-Hare and it was quiet. The stands were about half full in the 2nd quarter and continued to fill into half time. No electricity, compared to JH. I'm worried about the team getting fired up for this one, the time of day and the field. The turf and the low temps are great for a vertical game, what about our approach?  I'm sure we'll adjust. Then again, I'm a lifelong Auburn man and being worried is my natural state this time of year :-)

[bigbird 60,940]

50 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

read the receiver; I could tell what he was running from his first step. I knew he was counting his steps and usually when receivers count steps, they aren't really going deep," Simpson said. "I had a feel for it, and the formation, I kind of knew what was going on."

I love it!

Our DBs have been taught well.  If you have prepared right, the WR will tell you exactly where he's going. 

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10 minutes ago, bostic up the middle said:

I'm with you there, fifty. My only Cal game was in 2019 vs. Oregon. We arrived two hours prior, as we would in Jordan-Hare and it was quiet. The stands were about half full in the 2nd quarter and continued to fill into half time. No electricity, compared to JH. I'm worried about the team getting fired up for this one, the time of day and the field. The turf and the low temps are great for a vertical game, what about our approach?  I'm sure we'll adjust. Then again, I'm a lifelong Auburn man and being worried is my natural state this time of year :-)

worry leads to over thinking so i try to slow it down. i feel great about our secondary and i think the D will rise up. we cannot let those dirty stinking hippies beat us!. oh wait I am a hippy!

[Dom1ni0n 51]

Disagree with Uncle Phil's take on why play at Cal. 

[Dom1ni0n 51]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i just read where Cal had 669 yards of total "O". it is a worry................

We'll probably give up yards to them (I doubt 600), but still take home the midnight W.

[bigbird 60,940]

6 minutes ago, Dom1ni0n said:

We'll probably give up yards to them (I doubt 600), but still take home the midnight W.

Definitely gonna have to help the front 7 in the run game, it may open up some PA. Gonna have to stay focused and disciplined on the back end. 

[TexasTiger 14,310]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

 

That play was perfect.

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11 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

That play was perfect.

that was a pretty throw indeed!

[bostic up the middle 82]

SEC this Morning

power rankings segment mentioned AU at #5 in the top 5 (not #5 in the conf, just top 5 things they saw this weekend) - "Freeze warning, Auburn won the off-season, got fans together and bought-in,  offensive balance good on Saturday, mix of Thorne and Ashford worked well."

We weren't mentioned in the bottom 5 or in the tape of crucial WR drops across the SEC.