Hugh Freeze takes on his critics
ATLANTA – Hugh Freeze found himself discussing a different sport at SEC Media Days.
Auburn’s head coach has been under fire for his frequent golfing habits in recent weeks. Freeze didn’t avoid the fire during his press conference on Tuesday.
“I really haven’t had to defend it,” Freeze said. “You know, it’s something I enjoy doing, but I assure you it does not take away from my time working to take Auburn back to the top of the college football world.”
Plenty of work still remains for the Tigers to reach that goal.
The Tigers have gone 6-7 and 5-7 in Freeze’s first two years at the helm. Auburn missed a bowl game in 2024 at the end of a season that included losses to Cal, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt.
“We should have won or could have won some games last year, and we’ve done everything in our power to evaluate why that happened and what we can do better as coaches and then get more
pieces to the puzzle with more and more players,” Freeze said. “We feel very confident we’ve done both.”
There are several reasons why the Tigers lost some close games. Freeze mentioned turnovers and inefficiency in the red zone as just a couple.
Freeze said the coaches have worked all offseason on ways to be better in those situations. Their work will be put to the test right out of the gate.
Auburn opens the season with a road trip to Baylor. As always the Tigers also face both Alabama and Georgia, although both games will be in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Number one, playing at Jordan-Hare is a definite advantage in those games for sure, and our roster is one that can compete with those teams,” Freeze said. “We’ve been in the games even the first two years, but we haven’t found a way to win, and that’s one of the secrets, I think, to our success this year is having guys that we think we’ve brought in that have the combination of all of it. Not just skill set, but this guy’s a winner and has been proven to win and now will help us get over the edge in all these close games like those two will be.”
Georgia visits Auburn on October 11. The schedule also includes road trips to Oklahoma and Texas A&M in addition to the matchups with the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide.
Despite the schedule, Freeze remains confident in his squad as they enter a pivotal year three on the Plains.
“It takes a little time to build it, and we’ve been doing that,” Freeze said. “Certainly, I wish we had won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes. We’ve been blessed everywhere we’ve been to win, and I expect nothing less than that at Auburn.”