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The ultimate last day of a bye week topic: your Auburn prognosis
Posted on 11/2/25 at 8:35 am
Posted on 11/2/25 at 8:35 am
Can't do a post-mortem on our game, so I guess we can dissect what is quickly becoming a terminal coaching illness on tPlains.
Gotta say, I figured Hugh Freeze was going to be churning out 8-10 win teams in Auburn but that seems unlikely at this juncture.
I didn't watch their game until the last 5 minutes but I feel like that was probably a good summary of the first 55 for Auburn (and really their entire season). Offensive line cannot protect. Defense is fighting their asses off but getting no support.
My prognosis is that Auburn under Freeze probably focused too much on high school recruiting instead of throwing down cash for transfers that could have secured a cleaner path to competitiveness. Not that I disagree with the strategy in abstract but Auburn's situation was different. Harsin was a recruiting failure and Malzahn had fan/booster toxicity as a recruiting headwind for his last 2-3 classes. They were talent poor, so HS-focused recruiting was probably a better long term strategy than short term. Big question for Auburn administrators is if they buy the strategy or not. Certainly a bad year to be firing a head coach, so they may have no choice but do the old "new OC, don't stop donating" trick.
Gotta say, I figured Hugh Freeze was going to be churning out 8-10 win teams in Auburn but that seems unlikely at this juncture.
I didn't watch their game until the last 5 minutes but I feel like that was probably a good summary of the first 55 for Auburn (and really their entire season). Offensive line cannot protect. Defense is fighting their asses off but getting no support.
My prognosis is that Auburn under Freeze probably focused too much on high school recruiting instead of throwing down cash for transfers that could have secured a cleaner path to competitiveness. Not that I disagree with the strategy in abstract but Auburn's situation was different. Harsin was a recruiting failure and Malzahn had fan/booster toxicity as a recruiting headwind for his last 2-3 classes. They were talent poor, so HS-focused recruiting was probably a better long term strategy than short term. Big question for Auburn administrators is if they buy the strategy or not. Certainly a bad year to be firing a head coach, so they may have no choice but do the old "new OC, don't stop donating" trick.
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Posted on 11/2/25 at 8:39 am to Diego Ricardo
They have to fire him.
He's done.
He's done.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:02 am to Diego Ricardo
It’s always delicious to see them in emotional agony. Durkin is a good DC and the Aubs have recruited well on defense. That offense is TERRIBLE. Really mediocre QB play and erratic O line play. They have a couple of good WRs but that does you no good if they can’t get the ball.
Vandy is going beat them next week and I believe Bama beats them but I suspect it’ll be ugly. Auburn’s offense will play the game of their lives and play WAAAAAY above their heads for this one but I still don’t think it’ll be enough.
If Auburn loses to Bama (which I think they will), I’ll be stunned if they don’t fire Freeze.
Vandy is going beat them next week and I believe Bama beats them but I suspect it’ll be ugly. Auburn’s offense will play the game of their lives and play WAAAAAY above their heads for this one but I still don’t think it’ll be enough.
If Auburn loses to Bama (which I think they will), I’ll be stunned if they don’t fire Freeze.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:07 am to Diego Ricardo
Borderline elite defense, absolute trainwreck offense.
I mean they can’t block.
They can’t throw.
They can’t run.
What’s funny is I think if they had an offense and no defense he would get a pass from the fans because he’s an offensive guy.
But I think the writing is on the wall with two bad portal QBs that he’s a bit of a fraud offensively and combined with his health issues it’s never gonna get there.
I still predict some nightmare of a 13-10 game on the plains where we play down to their level and it’s a last possession game.
I mean they can’t block.
They can’t throw.
They can’t run.
What’s funny is I think if they had an offense and no defense he would get a pass from the fans because he’s an offensive guy.
But I think the writing is on the wall with two bad portal QBs that he’s a bit of a fraud offensively and combined with his health issues it’s never gonna get there.
I still predict some nightmare of a 13-10 game on the plains where we play down to their level and it’s a last possession game.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:26 am to Diego Ricardo
I'm a little surprised at how poorly he's fared there. I thought he'd at least be on par with Malzahn. If not for Durkin, he probably would have been fired last season.
It's funny though because remember all the pearl clutching they did when we fired Shula? Now they're about to hire their fourth coach this decade alone.
It's funny though because remember all the pearl clutching they did when we fired Shula? Now they're about to hire their fourth coach this decade alone.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:30 am to PuertoRicanBlaze
quote:
It's funny though because remember all the pearl clutching they did when we fired Shula?
This is why I mostly give no credence to the media tut-tutting fanbases when a coach is terminated for performance. If Auburn wants to fire a coach every 3-4 years because they expect more then that’s their prerogative. Frankly, with how close all these games are in our conference now, I suspect the 3-4 year tenure is going to be even more normalized. The bounces go against you for a few years and you go 7-5 instead of 10-2…your arse is gone, sorry for you. Truly NFL in all ways but no coaching staff tampering and no termed contracts for the players (so worse than the NFL imo).
This post was edited on 11/2/25 at 9:33 am
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:33 am to tide06
What has driven me crazy about playing Auburn at JH is Bama for some weird reason seems to always play tight and nervous even when Bama is clearly the better team.
Then you add to it the weird luck that always seems to go their way (freak bounces on a punt or a weird pass deflection, etc), terrible calls by the refs, generous spots of the ball by refs when Auburn has the ball and we consistently get terrible spots when we have the ball.
Then you add to it the weird luck that always seems to go their way (freak bounces on a punt or a weird pass deflection, etc), terrible calls by the refs, generous spots of the ball by refs when Auburn has the ball and we consistently get terrible spots when we have the ball.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 9:35 am to TideSaint
quote:
They have to fire him.
He's done.
They will wait until a week before the Bama game so that the players are max-motivated to rally around Durkin against us.
This post was edited on 11/2/25 at 9:36 am
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:07 am to Crimson77
This is what happens when you hired a guy with a losing SEC record overall even though he cheated his arse off at Ole Miss just because he beat Nick Saban twice. Then you double down and spend millions to bring in the worst passer in the league in 2024 because he...beat Alabama. Couldn't happen to a better bunch.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:19 am to Diego Ricardo
At this point he is going to be fired. Tbh I'd fire him now and make Dj the coach. They've already shown that morals dont matter.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:41 am to Diego Ricardo
First of all it’s an absolute joke how they set up their schedule with a bye week, Mercer, then playing Bama at home. They might give Hugh one more week so Durkin has 3 weeks to focus on us.
They sold their soul to hire Hugh just because he beat Saban twice. Hugh was the perfect fit for them but they didn’t factor in that the game isn’t the same as 2014. We stole their mojo in 2023 and they haven’t recovered.
They sold their soul to hire Hugh just because he beat Saban twice. Hugh was the perfect fit for them but they didn’t factor in that the game isn’t the same as 2014. We stole their mojo in 2023 and they haven’t recovered.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:44 am to FairhopeTider
Mercer is no pushover. They’re 7-1. I remember us playing them last year and they are not a patsy. One of the better FCS teams out there now.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:52 am to FairhopeTider
Just like Bruce Pearl, Hugh is the morally/ethically "flexible" kind of guy they like to hire. Auburn athletics has proven repeatedly they like to make those Faustian deals to win or think they'll win.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:55 am to FairhopeTider
quote:
They sold their soul to hire Hugh just because he beat Saban twice
This is also why they got Jackson Arnold, even though anyone watching that Oklahoma game last year could have told you Arnold's performance wasn't the main factor in the outcome.
That said, it's been pathetic to see Freeze try to pin his ineptitude on the quarterback for the second year in a row. Auburn is dead last (136th) in FBS in sacks allowed, with 37. Definitely most of those are on the offensive line.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 10:55 am to FairhopeTider
I’m trying to envision how they would beat us. Their offensive line just got prison sexed by Kentucky last night. They have a 17 year old starting at center. Their defense is really good though.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 11:01 am to tide06
quote:
What’s funny is I think if they had an offense and no defense he would get a pass from the fans because he’s an offensive guy.
No doubt. A Lincoln Riley type team is at least entertaining even if you're never going to win any hardware. A Mike Shula team, not so much. There's a special kind of hopelessness that comes with having a good defense and terrible offense that you just don't get when it's the other way around.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 11:03 am to Diego Ricardo
On playing them…
I know it’s at the haunted, voodoo ridden Jordan Hare… but I think that shite stops this year.
Alabama- 30-40 points
Auburn : 3-10 points
I know it’s at the haunted, voodoo ridden Jordan Hare… but I think that shite stops this year.
Alabama- 30-40 points
Auburn : 3-10 points
Posted on 11/2/25 at 11:08 am to Robot Santa
quote:
There's a special kind of hopelessness that comes with having a good defense and terrible offense that you just don't get when it's the other way around.
They got the ball back with 2:20 left or so and I still didn’t think they had any real chance to get in the end zone outside of some fluke explosive play.
When offenses have bad QBs everything looks awkward and clunky *cough Bama last year*.
But when you combine bad QBs with bad OLs it really starts to spiral out of control like we saw last night where it’s just completely hopeless and utterly demoralizing.
Their best bet this year would just be to run Arnold in the Jalen Hurts option offense we tried and take deep shots because they have no chance to piece together consistent drives.
Posted on 11/2/25 at 11:09 am to bamatide07
quote:
I’m trying to envision how they would beat us.
A couple of defensive busts, a couple of turnovers on our end of the field to give them free points, maybe a special teams score. You don't need to envision it to accept that it's going to happen. No matter how good we are or how bad they are, any Iron Bowl in the voodoo temple is going to be filled to the brim with absolute bullshite that invariably goes their way.
This post was edited on 11/2/25 at 11:10 am
Posted on 11/2/25 at 11:11 am to Robot Santa
You can also bank on them having Jason Autrey as the ref.
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