Paul Finebaum assesses how far away Auburn is from competing entering Year 2 under Hugh Freeze

Auburn posted their third straight losing finish at 6-7 in Hugh Freeze’s first season this past year. While his second record may be better than the one from his debut, Paul Finebaum just isn’t sure how much better that it will be.

Finebaum determined where the Tigers are heading ahead of this fall during ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ on Tuesday. He started by going ahead and saying that they won’t be in any form of contention in 2024.

“They’re not going to make it this year,” said Finebaum.

His biggest reasoning for that being the case is how last season ended for Auburn. Although they lost four straight, they were still looking positive at 6-4 through 10 games. However, they then lost their last three in rough fashion with a 21-point home loss to New Mexico State, the miracle defeat to Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and a disappointing performance versus Maryland in the Music City Bowl.

That finish didn’t inspire as much energy as they could’ve had if they’d won seven, eight, or even nine games. That’s especially sp considering how Finebaum thought Freeze seemed to handle their final skid.

“It’s just a matter of how does Hugh Freeze get situated? I mean it looked like Hugh Freeze, by the end of the season, went through a car wash without being in his car. He really did look disheveled,” said Finebaum. “It fell apart at the end.”

“He could have gone into the offseason with a lot more momentum,” Finebaum said.

Still, while that was the case, Finebaum remains fairly optimistic about their program under Freeze. That’s specifically because of the positivity that he has generated on the recruiting trail in his short time on The Plains, including the No. 8 class in 2024 and No. 9 class in 2025 according to On3’s Industry Ranking.

“I don’t think that’s a big deal in the long-term. I think how he recruits right now is what I’m interested in,” said Finebaum. “He has got the people behind him.”

For now, Auburn just needs to worry about taking a step forward toward a finish of more than six wins for the first time this decade. From that point is where they can look at how they can begin contending again in the conference and nationally.

“I think they’re in position,” said Finebaum. “This is going to be the new conversation in the SEC. How do you get from 8-4, where a lot of schools are right now, to somewhere between 9-3 and 10-2, which gets you in the playoffs?”