AUBURN—Saturday's loss against Oklahoma was a stinger for everyone involved with the Auburn program, and when it seems the Tigers are right there next to glory, it gets ripped away at the last second.
“Saturday hurt,” Freeze said. “Hurt our kids, our staff, and I’m sure it hurt our incredible fans, who have been just, to have five straight home games to open the season, they’ve just been marvelous… I just, my ask is to stick with us through the growing pains and support our guys and efforts.”
It was all but a solidified win for Freeze on Saturday before the momentum-swinging pick-six in the fourth quarter. It now marks three losses on the season, with all of them coming at home and in games that Auburn was very much in.
“There’s no way I can sit here and say that those three games weren’t winnable,” Freeze said.
After going back and dissecting the film from Saturday, Freeze mentioned he had many regrets and said that it ultimately fell on him to get it right.
Auburn left six points on the board with two missed field goals, but the two glaring plays were the pick-six and the early goal-line opportunity, in which Auburn was stuffed on the Oklahoma one-yard line. It was a chance to put another six points on the board—seven barring a successful PAT—and was a crucial miscue for the Tigers in the loss.
“We get down inside the, I guess one or two,” Freeze said. “Had two shots from there and went with a package that we’ve been working on for several weeks, and truthfully, I regret not giving it to Jarquez down there at least once.”
Auburn did a nice job on Saturday overcoming the turnover bug it has had throughout the first four games of the season. The Tigers turned the ball over just once on Saturday - the lowest of any game thus far. But the one turnover committed was a glaring mistake and one that seemingly cost Auburn the game.
With Auburn’s continuous struggle at the quarterback position, Freeze counted on Payton Thorne to make a decision on an RPO call, when in hindsight he should have never put Thorne in the situation to throw the pick.
“We should have just controlled it, and ran it, and punted it. That’s what the film says.” Freeze said on the situation in the fourth quarter. “Payton’s mature, and sometimes I probably need to - the conversation on the helmet stuff is good, and it really worked well for us most of the game. You wish you would just throw that away or take the sack and we punt it. But again, in hindsight, just let me control it and let’s run the ball and then punt and see if we can’t play defense.”
Auburn will get away from home this weekend with a trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Freeze can’t afford to have many regretful mistakes in that one, with the Bulldogs a top five team in the country despite a loss to Alabama on Saturday.
“Got to get ready for a very very difficult Georgia team who’s loaded with talent, experience and maturity,” Freeze said. “Obviously, well-coached and great respect for Kirby (Smart), the job he’s done and the classes that he’s stacked there make them one of the nation’s elites.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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