Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is aware that he and the team can do more to put itself in a position to win.
Auburn’s Hugh Freeze: ‘We’re Not Playing Winning Football’
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For the third week in a row and the fourth time this season, the Auburn Tigers failed to come out on top. Auburn dropped to 2-4 on the year after falling 31-13 to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. It marked the eighth-straight time the Tigers have lost to the Bulldogs.
The theme of the season remains the same as the Tigers are having their worst start to conference play since 2012: Auburn cannot stop shooting itself in the foot.
Head coach Hugh Freeze believes the issue starts at the top with the coaching staff not having the players ready.
“We’re not playing winning football,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to as coaches figure out how to coach them harder and make sure we don’t make critical errors at critical times that cost us a chance to win a football game.”
Auburn had a chance to make it a one-score game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. A questionable decision by quarterback Payton Thorne on fourth-and-one led to a turnover on downs. Freeze explained the mistake Thorne made.
“He (Thorne) absolutely did not go with what we had called,” Freeze said. “Payton’s a thinker and he knows football. He decided to try to run some type of zone read there. I think everybody was a little confused. We definitely weren’t on the same page there.”
Auburn had some success on the ground, led by running back Jarquez Hunter who led the Tigers in rushing with 91 yards and a touchdown off 13 carries. His 38-yard touchdown score was the longest run allowed by the Bulldogs this season.
“I’m proud of Jarquez and our running backs,” Freeze said. “Love his effort, he’s never going to quit. He’s going to practice his tail off every single time. Glad to see him having success.”
The Tigers were held in check through the air as Thorne was limited to 200 passing yards. KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the way for the team in receiving with 95 yards off seven catches.
“They (Georgia) played coverage most all day,” Freeze said. “We had a few opportunities but really very few. Down the field throws were available.”
The Tigers have a timely bye-week before hitting the road to take on the Missouri Tigers who are in the top-10 for now, but were shellacked by Texas A&M 41-10 on Saturday.
