Hugh Freeze hopes Auburn gets 'lesser than' version of Jalen Milroe in Iron Bowl

Auburn is coming off its biggest win of the season, defeating Texas A&M in four overtimes to keep its bowl hopes alive. Hugh Freeze began his second Iron Bowl week by saying that his team will need a similar effort against Alabama in Week 14.

Much of that will be centered around a defensive gameplan surrounding Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe and his dual-threat abilities. However, Milroe turned the ball over multiple times against Oklahoma in a 24-3 loss over the weekend. Freeze believes his performance against the Sooners isn’t indicative of the player who will take the field in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

“You look at the good. That’s what he’s capable of,” Freeze told reporters on Monday of Iron Bowl week. “I hope we get the lesser-than version, but in a game like this, I would think – I don’t know him personally, but everything you see, he’s made of the right stuff and he competes at a high, high level in some of the biggest games. I would think he’d be determined to bounce back. So I think we’ve got to plan to get his best.

“I feel confident they’ll use him as a runner. That’s when they’ve been the most dangerous, and we’ve got to have a plan for that.”

Milroe has produced 615 rushing yards for Alabama this season, which not only ranks 12th in the SEC this season, but leads the Crimson Tide. His 17 additional touchdowns on the ground is good for second in the conerence as well, behind only Tennessee‘s Dylan Sampson who is in the midst of a historic scoring season in Knoxville in 2024.

The true dual-threat quarterback been able to take care of business through the air as well, ranking sixth in the SEC with 2,396 passing yards through 13 weeks this season. However, interceptions have been an issue for the second-year starter as he’s thrown nine so far this year — including three last week against the Sooners

Still, that version of Milroe isn’t the one Freeze and company are preparing for. Instead, they’re expecting another hard-fought, gritty Iron Bowl against Alabama. It’s no secret that game has been circled on both schedule since the season began.

“There is no bigger game on the schedule,” Freeze continued. “To sit in this seat and to lose one like we did last year still doesn’t sit right. I know that the Auburn faithful had to endure that, and we want to change that feeling in this building and for our great fan base in this state. It’s a tall task.”

Kickoff between the Tigers and Crimson Tide is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ABC.