Auburn's Hugh Freeze Sounds Like He's Out of Ideas

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is as frustrated as the rest of the Auburn Family at his team's inability to close winnable games.

Auburn Tigers head coach and his hand-chosen quarterback Payton Thorne have let several games slip away in 2024. / John Reed-Imagn Images

For as long as the Auburn Tigers play teams close; it stands to reason that they might finally bump into a win to recalibrate their season. A team that could legitimately be 6-1 heading into their game against Kentucky is sitting at 2-5 and dead last in the SEC.

Freeze appears to have reached the point where he sounds more than a little bit paralyzed by the constant failures to execute, it sure feels as if he's clean out of fresh ideas other than maybe - wait 'till next year, as he tries to sew up a top-5 recruiting class and keep his current-young stars on campus after the transfer portal opens.

"I've never had a season in my 32 years of coaching that just not a single game has ended up going our way in the end, and we're just not making enough plays in critical moments for that to happen, and it's really hard to put a finger on it," Freeze said during the SEC teleconference on Wednesday.

Bouts of head scratching during the bye week only led to the Tigers freezing like a deer in headlights all over again. Coughing up another lead against the Missouri Tigers last week was yet another screening of Groundhog Day, but without the gags, which frustrated Tigers fans have had to suffer through.

Freeze can't really afford to admit he's run out of new ideas, especially if he wants to stay in a job, and some buzz this week about how buyout clauses might work are not going to have improved his morale much.

For all the cringe worthy cussing and blame projection we've witnessed from Freeze this season, he's undoubtedly scripted his own decline.

Going with quarterback Payton Thorne with only the severely inexperienced Hank Brown as a safety net, was indeed the very definition of high wire coaching.

Without a quarterback pulling out the closer games for him, or at least not losing them, the freshmen-loaded Tigers have fallen into losing habits under the embattled leadership of Freeze.

Things have only festered over time, and it's led to the point where Freeze can lament his misfortune no more. He's got to inject some kind of winning inspiration into the dynamic - or else.

"At some point we've got to grow up and learn how to win," Freeze insisted. "I've got to learn how to coach them in a way that gives them the confidence to play to win, and not to, 'hey, try to hold on.'"

Taking another shot of courage may well be the only answer. By feeding his talented group of freshmen receivers, at least it would be massively beneficial for their long-term development.

Providing a tantalizing glimpse into the future, particularly via ambitious wins in recruiting, have kept him safe in his position for now, but that narrative might be swinging the other way in general terms.

If the struggling Tigers boss wants to regain at least some positive momentum moving forward, he must find the inspiration to green light his young stars to play a little backyard ball, and see if that sticks to the wall.

He'll get the chance to try and right the ship against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington on Saturday night at 6:45 CT on the SEC Network.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.