GAME 10 REVIEW: Mission Accomplished

Auburn 48  Arkansas 10.  There are those few times when it all comes together and man I have learned to try and soak up every moment.  It just does not happen a whole lot and it certainly has not happened for Auburn very much in the last few years.  As I have outlined the last few weeks I thought Auburn desperately needed a win in this game.  They got a lot more...  I thought this game would go down to the wire but it did not.  Auburn absolutely dominated Arkansas on both sides of the ball from the get go.  I was pretty blown away.  I mean even another ugly Payton Thorne interception did not change the momentum.  After all the early struggles this is what Auburn needed badly, i.e. a big win highlighting an improving offense.  Add to it that it was a conference road win and puts Auburn on a three game conference winning streak (which also has not happened in awhile) and things are looking so much better.

This win also gives, barring a meltdown next week against New Mexico State, a guaranteed winning season regardless of what happens in the Iron Bowl and in Auburn's bowl game.  I will not comment on the Iron Bowl yet but Auburn should have a pretty good chance in a bowl game for an eighth win and Freeze has a lot better record in bowl games than Malzahn did.  Of course pretty much any coach is better than Malzahn in bowl games...  Again barring something horrible next week this is mission accomplished for Hugh Freeze and his staff in their first season.  It is a minor miracle that Auburn is in this position considering where this program and roster was just a year ago.  There sure have been some bumps in the road during this season but in the end Auburn got where it needed to be.

The Tigers did it in style with three touchdown passes from quarterback Payton Thorne, another hundred yard rushing day from the resurgent Jarquez Hunter, and of course two more catches from one of the best transfers Auburn has landed in tight end Rivaldo Fairweather.  Add to that a defense that was just nasty on Saturday plus some elite special teams play and you get by far Auburn's biggest win of the season.  I am not sure what the future holds for the Hugh Freeze era at Auburn but let me say again, Freeze has done an absolutely outstanding job overall in getting Auburn to this point over the last year.  You have to remember that Arkansas absolutely beat down Auburn in Jordan Hare Stadium last season and Auburn also lost to Mississippi State.  Auburn cannot take these wins for granted period.

I honestly do not know about the rotating quarterbacks and some of the decisions on offense early but these last three wins and hopefully one next week should put all that behind Auburn and Freeze.  I mean it has been a pretty big downhill slide for Auburn since 2020.  Other than a few great moments from Bo Nix it has been a rough few years on the plains.  This game, current recruiting returns, and Auburn hopefully clinching a winning season next week all signal clear hope for the first time in a long time. Again I am not sure what the future holds for Hugh Freeze but he got the job done this year.  You just cannot overstate how much of an achievement it is to get to this point considering where this program was just a year ago.  This is definitely a win to savor and remember as a milestone even though Arkansas is obviously not a very good team. 

Of course it seems that Hugh Freeze regardless of whether he is winning or losing cannot stop from sticking his foot in his mouth.  I mean it is not a big deal but in the post game presser when asked how they turned things around on offense, Freeze basically said it was because he get involved.  I mean that might be true but you just do not say it in my opinion.  It just sounded kind of bad to me and he put another knife in the back of offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery when there was just no reason to after such a big win.  It is a minor thing but it just sounds petty.  As Kevin Costner's character in the move "Bull Durham" lectured Tim Robbin's character...  "KNOW YOUR CLICHES".  I mean just use of those well used clichés when asked that and give everybody credit. 

Auburn most avoid a bit of a trap game this week.  New Mexico State is still New Mexico State and they did lose to Auburn's opening opponent UMass who Auburn destroyed but they have rallied to be 8-3 and 2nd in Conference USA.  The Tigers should be OK but will need to at least show up for a bit.  Across the state Bama will be tuning up for the Iron Bowl with Chattanooga.  The countdown to the Iron Bowl will begin Saturday night and it will be a lot easier to get excited about it after this win over Arkansas.  The other big news out of this weekend was that several SEC coaches are on the hot seat and two have been fired.  As turmoil engulfs these schools it sure is nice to not be talking about a possible coaching change at Auburn for the first time in several years.