Cal Football: Auburn Beat Writer Answers Our 5 Questions About the Tigers

The Golden Bears and Tigers clash Saturday night after combining to score 117 points in Week 1.

Cal opens its home schedule on Saturday against Auburn, the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Both are coming off high-scoring victories in their first games of the season, the Bears going on the road to beat North Texas 58-21 and the Tigers routing Mass 59-14.

Auburn, coming off a three-season stretch where it went 17-19, begins anew with coach Hugh Freeze, who led Liberty to a 34-15 record the past four seasons.

Freeze’s previous five-year run at Southeastern Conference rival Ole Miss ended in the summer of 2017 when he resigned under pressure amid NCAA violations and the revelation that he had made at least a dozen phone calls to escort services using a school-issued cell phone.

Freeze has recruited well, restocking the Auburn roster with a collection of transfers, including quarterback Payton Thorne, formerly of Michigan State.

A 6.5-point favorite for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff, Auburn was picked sixth in the seven-team SEC Western Division in the annual preseason media poll.

To get better insight into the Tigers, we asked 5 Questions of Zac Blackerby, publisher of Auburn Daily and host of the podcast Locked on Auburn. His answer to our first question is posted in the video at the top of this story.

1. It looked like the two-headed quarterback system with Payton Thorne throwing the ball and Robby Ashford running it from the red zone worked pretty well against UMass. Do you expect Freeze to continue using that and is there any concern defenses will pretty much know what’s coming depending on which quarterback is on the field?

2. Even without running back Jarquez Hunter, who reportedly was indefinitely suspended last May, Auburn looks to have a strong group of running backs. What is the status of Hunter and tell us about the freshman Jeremiah Cobb, who had a nice debut on Saturday:

3. The Auburn defense had four sacks and six quarterback hurries in the opener. How much of that was the opponent and how much is a reflection of the Tigers’ approach to playing aggressive defense under new coordinator Ron Roberts?

4. Freeze has a complicated past but it’s undeniable he can coach. How long do you think it will take for him to make Auburn an upper-division team again in the SEC? And how good is the 2024 recruiting class shaping up to be after getting a commitment from Sunday four-star O-lineman DeAndre Carter?

5. I think Cal fans feel like the Bears have a shot at winning Saturday. How would you describe how most Auburn fans view this game?

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 Cover photo of Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne with coach Hugh Freeze by John Reed, USA Today 

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo