Paul Finebaum: Auburn picked up needed momentum with Week 9 victory

Paul Finebaum believes Saturday’s victory for Hugh Freeze and Auburn over Mississippi State was a huge one for the Tigers.

It marked Freeze’s first SEC win as the head coach of Auburn, as the Tigers earned a 27-13 victory by virtue of a big game from quarterback Payton Thorne. The Auburn QB finished the day 20-of-26 (76.9%) passing for 230 yards, adding three touchdowns and no interceptions.

On Monday, Finebaum elaborated on his thoughts regarding the job Freeze is currently doing with the Tigers, and where Auburn stands at the moment.

“It seemed like a different team, than what we’ve previously seen in recent weeks,” Finebaum said, via McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “I think it was really a good, ‘Hey, we have an SEC win.’ Comparing beating Mississippi State versus someone else is a whole different situation.

“But I think for now, what Auburn needs is some momentum, to try and finish this season on a high note. They got that Saturday afternoon. … I did hear the criticism last week, of the staff and especially the offensive play-calling, but that’s going to come. … This was a challenged team from the beginning. Everyone knew that. I think that was one reason why Hugh Freeze carried on the way he did. But for him to try and find something to lock on to, and fortunately for him, there’s a couple of those games in the SEC this year, and another one coming up for Auburn, that you can grab and take something out of, and then take a wild swing in that final game of the year.”

It’s not like many expected Freeze to turn Auburn around overnight, but the progress the Tigers are making is certainly a positive. After the victory, Freeze was nothing but complimentary of they way his squad played.

“They come to work every day,” Freeze said. “It’s good. Listen, our first SEC win at Auburn. They don’t come easy in this league and they didn’t come easy in the second half. Really proud of the way they prepared. Our coaches and our players. Our fans are incredible. We’ve got a big homefield advantage here.”

“… “We’ve been through a very difficult stretch. You look ahead and you think, ‘if we can just get some momentum, we can really turn this around and give us some momentum heading into the offseason.’ That’s our hope. We’ve got to come a go to work. We’ve got two on the road in this league, which are always difficult.”

Alas, Auburn and Hugh Freeze will be hoping to finish the season strong. If they play the way they did against the Bulldogs moving forward, they’ll be able to do just that.