Hugh Freeze Reveals Initial Thoughts on Cal Bears

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze gives his initial impressions on Auburn's next opponent, the Cal Bears.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze knows the Cal Bears will present a bigger challenge than Auburn's first opponent Alabama A&M. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

After picking up a dominant 73-3 win over Alabama A&M to begin the 2024 campaign, the Auburn Tigers turn their attention to the Cal Golden Bears.

This is the second game of the home-and-home series between the teams. Auburn picked up a 14-10 win over Cal on the road in Week 2 last season.

The Golden Bears opened the season with a 31-13 win over UC Davis that was a one-point game entering the second half.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze gave his thoughts on the matchup and the challenges Cal could give his team.

Freeze talked about how similar this Cal team is defensively to the team Auburn played last season.

“Defensively, it’s the same (as last year),” Freeze said. “Justin Wilcox is one of the better defensive coordinators in the nation, has been for years. Peter Sirmon is with him. Both of those guys have been in Power Five conferences for a long time and done a really nice job. And they did a great job against us last year.

"They have quite a few returners. Both those defensive ends, they’re really talented, 44 (Xavier Carlton) and 7 (David Reese). You’ve got to have a plan for those guys. Linebackers are aggressive, play hard. And they’re athletic in the secondary. Will they play us the exact same way they did last year? I don’t know. But last year they were basically saying ‘we’re going to make you have to throw the football and win some one-on-ones.’ We struggled to do that some.”

Freeze explained how Cal’s high-tempo offense will be something that Auburn needs to be prepared for.

“We’re going to have to get ready for tempo; they go fast,” Freeze said. “So that creates problems with communication. We’re going to make sure we are communicating effectively. They are pretty new offensively. It’s different. Big quarterback, strong, good arm, (he) can throw it. So it will be another challenge for us.”

Auburn’s offense struggled against Cal last season. The Tigers only managed to score 14 points. Payton Thorne led Auburn in passing with just 94 yards. 

Freeze talked about his confidence in Auburn to not come out flat like it did last year offensively.

“Well, we feel confident right now,” Freeze said. “After Saturday we will see. Your initial statement is accurate and I will not run from that. Here’s our chance, not just them but us as coaches to prove we need to be a fundamental scoring machine against a team that plays really good defensive football. It will be a really good test for us.”

Auburn wide receiver Sam Jackson V was Cal’s starting quarterback when the teams faced off last season. Freeze talked about potentially picking Jackson’s brain on when Cal does certain things defensively.

“I may talk to him,” Freeze said. “I see what they’re doing and I think I have a good feel about what they’ve done. I don’t know exactly when they’re going to do it, but I know if we put 12 personnel out there. Defensive guys don’t change too much as far as this is how you treat 12 personnel as opposed to 11 personnel or 10 personnel.

"Now your fronts are going to be quite different. I don’t know if Sam would have an idea of when they’re going to get in the bear front or when they’re going to get in an even front. Probably our defensive guys will talk to him more than I would.”

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The broadcast can be found on ESPN2.