I digress though. Auburn has Vandy on the schedule this season and I am thankful for it. The Tigers desperately needed a gimme in conference and on the road to boot. Two big time Jarquez Hunter runs put Auburn up 14-0. Unfortunately quarterback Payton Thorne threw a really ugly pick six to keep Vandy in the game. But fortunately the defense held and the teams swapped a couple of punts before Auburn got a field goal right before the half and then aided by a big penalty got a connection from Payton Thorne to Rivaldo Fairweather to put the score up to 24-7. Auburn then stopped Vandy and drove it down where for the second straight week Thorne hit a short touchdown pass to running back Jeremiah Cobb. That effectively ended the game but Vandy did drive down and get a TD and a two-point conversion to make it a little closer.
It certainly was not a perfect game by Auburn but it got the job done. I have read a lot about Auburn's goals now for this season and I have noticed they are one game off from what I think Auburn needs to do. Head coach Hugh Freeze said the goal is to be bowl eligible with six wins. I am sorry I disagree I think the goal is a winning season which Auburn has not had since 2020. Auburn went 6-6 and was bowl eligible in 2021 and then lost to Houston in Birmingham finishing 6-7. They like adding the bowl wins to the record but always try to keep them off as losses. They count to me. Auburn has had two losing seasons in a row. However if these Tigers win in Arkansas this weekend and take care of business against New Mexico they have a winning season regardless of what happens in the bowl game.
I think they need that regardless of what anyone else says. It is important. Unfortunately that job just got a lot harder. Can Auburn beat Bama at home? Yes but the chance is low. Auburn's best chance at a winning season is beating Arkansas this weekend. Arkansas got a huge win and a huge boost with a gigantic win at Florida. They will be much tougher to beat now this week. However while they are better they are still very beatable. I think Auburn needs to pull out all the stops in this one. A win would take the pressure off and give in my opinion Auburn a much better chance against Bama and in the bowl game with the pressure off. Everything would be better if Auburn can go get this win at Arkansas. It is going to be one of those games that not many people will pay attention to but just huge for the two teams involved.
Hopefully the Auburn offensive coaches will continue to make smart decisions like these past two games. They continued to keep it simple for the most part in the passing game as I noted last week AND THEY STOPPED ROTATING QUARTERBACKS. I did not comment on that last week and I should have but EVERYBODY knew that was STUPID and Freeze sure looks and sounds a lot better not trying to justify that hot mess. Now there were some bad drops this week and that could ruin Auburn's chances against Arky or Bama. I just do not know what to say about this problem. These guys have played football their whole life, just catch the ball!!! The blocking will also have to hold up as Arkansas will be better than Vandy or State in my opinion.
Well we are now to the end and have a big conference game on what looks like an absolutely gorgeous cooler November day with what I think is a lot on the line. I am really looking forward to this one. I think it could be the tightest game of the season. It will show us even more about head coach Hugh Freeze. I do not really count Cal and I know the Georgia was close but you never really thought Auburn would prevail. The losses against Texas A&M, LSU, and Ole Miss were tight in spots but did not go down to the wire. Auburn's last two wins against State and Vandy did not either. I think this one might be the one that goes down to the wire.
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