Hugh Freeze criticizes reporters who claim Auburn's second-half vs Mississippi State wasn't 'aggressive'

Freeze had a lot to say about those who claim that Auburn's play calling and decision making on offense wasn't aggressive enough.

Auburn scored 24 points in the first half of their 27-13 victory over Mississippi State last Saturday.

The Tigers (4-4, 1-4 SEC) are back in the win column largely due to their first half explosion offensively. Quarterback Payton Thorne threw for three touchdowns in those first two quarters and the offense as a whole moved the ball with tempo and effectiveness. Things were looking good heading into the locker room, but a slow second half of play left some fans disgruntled.

Fans and reporters then shared those opinions online after the game.

Freeze was asked about what happened in the second half and what he attributed the lack of points to.

Freeze, as candid and honest as possible about his team with the media, asked the room if he could be honest about what some were saying about his decision making that lead to just three points in the second half.

"You guys can say whatever you want, whether it's opinion, whether it's facts, and I saw many of you, that was your take on it," Freeze said about those who thought Auburn wasn't aggressive enough in the second half.

"Do you realize we had one possession in the third quarter? What did we do on that? Got points. Pretty good drive. Do you realize in the fourth quarter we had the ball on the minus three, the minus five, and the minus fourteen, one possession on the 30 where I punted on fourth and one. We were up two scores, that's the only possessions we had. We were up three scores on one of them, two scores on the other, and they're bringing gut cross and super fill missile every play as we're backed up, trying to get back into the game. So I would love for - and I was aggressive. I actually threw it for a first down and we got called for a penalty - I threw it three times, which is pretty crazy, probably. "

Freeze went on to criticize and challenge those who claimed Auburn's play calling wasn't aggressive or serious.

"I would love after this for you to go show me what aggressive looks like on the board blocking super fill missile and gut cross. I wanna know. So absolutely, you guys and ladies that just say things and you don't - that's the facts. I don't know how to be really more aggressive [...] I would have loved to have had some possessions like we did in the first quarter where we started at the 25 or the 30. I promise you, I was not going to be aggressive up two scores on the five yard line or the three yard line and let something crazy happen, and a tip ball and they return it for a touchdown and all of the sudden momentum flips. That would not be based in good wisdom."

The Tigers' large lead combined with Mississippi State's aggressiveness in opportune spots forced Freeze and his offensive staff to be more careful with their lead. It eventually led to Auburn's first double-digit win over an SEC opponent since the Tigers defeated Ole Miss in 2021.

Auburn travels to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores this Saturday at 3 pm CT on the SEC Network.

---

Recruiting pages to bookmark

2024 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

2025 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!

Join the Locked on Auburn Discord

Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter

Like Auburn Daily on Facebook

Subscribe to Locked On Auburn on YouTube