Hugh Freeze urges Auburn offense to punch it in, offense obliges

Auburn leads UMass 17-7 early, scoring just moments after coach Hugh Freeze had pleaded with his team to punch it in after an early drive had stalled in the red zone.

As Freeze spoke with the ESPN broadcast crew during the game he outlined what he hoped to see, with his team’s offense parked in the red zone.

“We need to put this one in,” Freeze said. “A penalty kept us I think from scoring on the second drive. I think offensively we’re playing well. Defensively we had really one bad position. Looked like they were out of it a little bit that second possession. The first quarter went really fast, man. Two possessions, that’s not much. Special teams have played well. We need to punch this one in.”

Sure enough, Auburn would do just that, not even waiting until Freeze finished his sideline interview to plunge into the end zone.

Quarterback Robby Ashford, rotating in for starter Payton Thorne, grabbed a carry and took it in 10 yards for the score, making it 17-7 Auburn near the beginning of the second quarter.

Auburn has managed to open the early lead despite playing without star running back Jarquez Hunter. Hunter was ruled out shortly before the game, but Freeze has declined to discuss when he might be available or the exact reasons for his absence.

Still, the Tigers backfield didn’t seem to miss a beat.

“I felt good about our running back room,” Freeze said. “I think we’re deep there. I think both (Brian) Battie and Damari (Alston) have played well.”

Three notes to keep in mind

It will be the first meeting between Auburn and UMass. The Minutemen will be the 87th FBS team of 133 current FBS members that Auburn has played. Of the 86 FBS teams Auburn has previously played, the Tigers have defeated 79 at least once; the only exceptions: Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, South Florida and Texas Tech.

Auburn has been dominant in season openers in recent history. The Tigers are 101-27-2 all-time in season openers, and have won 15 of their last 17 openers dating back to the 2006 season. The only losses are both to Clemson, in the 2012 season and the 2016 season.

With five opponents in the 2023 preseason AP poll, no team is set to face more ranked opponents than Auburn (5). Those include Georgia (1), Alabama (4), LSU (5), Ole Miss (22) and Texas A&M (23).

Bonus note: Because of updated seating, the capacity crowd inside Jordan-Hare Stadium is now 88,043. With a sellout crowd expected, the UMass game will be the largest official crowd in the history of Auburn football.