BY BRANDON HUGHES
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPINON — Saturday night was the night. Auburn entered the 130th installment of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry hungry and desperate for a win. The Tigers were looking to end an eight-game losing streak to Georgia and avoid starting SEC play 0-3 for the first time in their 133-year history.
It was there for the taking — a night game in Jordan-Hare Stadium, coming off a bye week, and facing a Georgia team the Tigers were more than capable of beating.
But on a night filled with hope and promise, in front of a frenzied home crowd, and with Auburn legend Cam Newton in attendance for his jersey retirement ceremony, Auburn fans experienced once again the equivalent of Lucy pulling the football from Charlie Brown — believing that this time, she’d really leave the ball down.
Alas, it was the best of halves and the worst of halves. Despite surging to a 10-0 lead, Auburn (3-3, 0-3) fell to Georgia (5-1, 3-1) 20-10 in yet another “Freeze Fade.”
Leading up to the game, head coach Hugh Freeze was asked about the Tigers’ offensive struggles in the previous two games and how he planned to fix them. He talked about taking time for self-reflection.
“I didn’t like the feeling of going into an open week playing like we did offensively, but it was much needed — a good time for us to evaluate all that,” Freeze said.
On the work put in during the bye week to right the ship offensively, he said, “We’ve studied it all. There wasn’t much time off during the open week for the staff or the kids, truthfully, and we’re looking for ways to make sure we improve that.”
When asked pointedly if fans would see a different offense against Georgia, Freeze replied, “They better.”
Well, they didn’t.
The offense came out roaring, chewing up 7:21 while moving 75 yards in 14 plays to open the game. The drive ended with Jackson Arnold’s 2-yard touchdown plunge — just Auburn’s second opening-drive touchdown of the season and its first against Georgia since 2015. Arnold’s score was the Tigers’ 13th rushing touchdown, equaling last year’s total. On their second possession, the Tigers again reached the red zone, settling for a 25-yard Alex McPherson field goal.
Auburn’s offense appeared back to its strength, rushing 12 times for 80 yards in the first quarter. The ground-heavy attack burned clock and limited the visiting Bulldogs to just one possession in the opening frame.
While the offense racked up 145 yards on its first two drives, the defense — as it has all season — held strong, limiting Georgia to just 20 yards on its first three drives.
Everything was going the Tigers’ way. And then it all fell apart.
After a three-and-out, the Auburn offense found its rhythm again, marching 79 yards in 14 plays over nearly eight minutes. A 27-yard run by Arnold on third and 14 set Auburn up inside the Georgia 5-yard line. Then, facing third and goal inside the 1, eyeing a commanding 17-0 lead, Arnold attempted a quarterback sneak. When he jumped over the pile, the ball was punched out by a Georgia defender, giving the Bulldogs possession at their own 1-yard line.
The play was reviewed to see if the ball crossed the goal line, but the fumble was upheld. Georgia’s offense found life with the turnover, driving 88 yards in just 1:19 before kicking a 29-yard field goal to trail 10-3 at halftime.
After the goal-line fumble, Auburn’s “new and improved” offense vanished. The Tigers ran 44 plays for 237 yards in the first half but gained just 40 yards on 23 plays in the second. Before going down 20-10 with 1:53 left, Auburn managed only 15 yards on 14 plays.
The losses are stacking up for Freeze, who is now 14-17 overall, 5-14 in the SEC, 1-11 against ranked teams, 7-16 against Power Four opponents, 2-11 in games decided by 10 points or fewer, and 3-16 when failing to produce a 100-yard rusher.
Also of note: Auburn is averaging 12 points and 79 yards of offense in the second half this season. Nationally, Auburn ranks 77th in scoring offense but 19th in scoring defense. The Tigers also became the first SEC team since 2018 to have 10 or more penalties in three straight games.
In his postgame press conference, Freeze said, “I think it’s very clear that we find ways to not win football games.”
He has had 31 games to figure out how to win. Auburn football doesn’t need clarity — it needs a new direction.
By the Numbers:
Auburn is the first team this season to prevent Georgia from scoring a first-half touchdown.
Auburn held Georgia to 79 rushing yards — the fourth time this season and 10th time in 18 games under defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin that the Tigers have held an opponent under 100 rushing yards.
The Auburn defense is holding opponents to an average of 13 points below their season scoring average.
Up Next:
Missouri at home, 6:45 p.m. on SEC Network.
