Payton Thorne Changed Call on Botched 4th Down According to Hugh Freeze

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze had no trouble pointing out that quarterback Payton Thorne changed the call on a botched 4th-down attempt.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne is catching more heat from head coach Hugh Freeze after their loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers lost 31-13 on Saturday night to the Georgia Bulldogs. It was the eighth loss in a row to the Bulldogs in what not-so-long ago was considered a rivalry game.

Almost as predictable as Georgia beating Auburn these days was head coach Hugh Freeze chucking his quarterback under the bus after another-discombobulated loss.

As the third-quarter wound to a close, Auburn was trailing 21-10, facing a 4th and 4 on its own 44. Freeze took the time between quarters to confirm he wanted to go for it inside his own territory and sent the offense back on the field to start the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Payton Thorne pulled a handoff from running back Jarquez Hunter who went right, and Thorne followed him into the arms of three Georgia defenders. It looked like a busted play from the get-go, and from Freeze's reaction on the sidelines, it obviously wasn't what he wanted from Thorne.

Thorne's glassy-eyed expression on the sidelines gave the impression of a quarterback who had enough of his quarterback-coach relationship with Freeze, and Georgia went on to win 31-13.

After the game, Freeze was quick to point out that Thorne changed the play coming out of the commercial break between quarters.

"He absolutely didn't go with what we had called. Payton's a thinker; he knows football," Freeze said trying to provide Thorne some cover after chucking him under the bus. "He decided to try and run some type of zone-read there. I think everybody was a little confused, but we definitely weren't on the same page there.

"I should have used one of our timeouts there when I saw things were going awry. That's something we've got to learn from, and again, we've got to coach better where that's not really an option at that moment in time. That was a big drive. We were moving the ball. We've got to talk through that one and make sure that doesn't happen again."

Freeze's words ring a bit hollow for a variety of reasons. First, his proclivity for blaming his quarterbacks after a yet-another mistake-filled game is wearing thin. Second, he may have changed the wording a bit, but it's almost exactly what he said last week after squandering a two-score lead to the Sooners.

“I’ve got to make sure he understands the situation better,” Freeze said last week after throwing the ball twice when running Hunter would have probably won the game. “We should have had runs there. I’ve got to be clearer with him on what we’re trying to do at that moment in the game.”

We're in the "shame on you" phase of the Freeze/Thorne relationship. In two seasons at Auburn, Thorne has shown his decision-making under pressure is suspect. So why does Freeze keep putting Thorne in that situation. If he doesn't have any control over what Thorne is calling at the line of scrimmage, why is Thorne still the quarterback.

By all measures, Freeze is loading this Auburn team with talent to compete at the highest levels of the SEC. But for the moment, he's prisoner to the roster and quarterback room he has. Payton Thorne has shown who he is. If Freeze refuses to adjust, that's a Freeze problem, not a Thorne problem.