Hugh Freeze Makes Provocative Comments In Interview On SEC Network

In the whole of college football, there were three coaches who ever managed to beat Nick Saban's Alabama teams more than once. Les Miles did it 3 times at LSU, Gus Malzahn did it 3 times at Auburn, and Hugh Freeze did it twice at Ole Miss.

In the interview, Freeze made a point to stress that he and Nick Saban are good friends off the field, and respects him a great deal on the field, saying “Nick is incredible – but I should have four wins against them,” and “We beat them twice and we had them 24-3 the third year, and I wasn’t smart enough to slow it down. And then last year it easily could’ve gone our way."

The 2023 Auburn season was capped off with a heartbreaking loss to Alabama at home in which one play on defense could have easily made the difference, were it not for a spectacular throw from Jalen Milroe, and an equally impressive catch from Isaiah Bond.

Most impressive about that game from Auburn's point of view, however, is how close the team got to winning despite Payton Thorne only completing 5 passes for 91 yards and 2 INT. In an interview from fall camp, Thorne said of his 2023 season "I haven't looked at hardly any of last year," adopting a throw-out-the-game-tape approach to preparing for this next season. The Auburn QB mentioned how the terminology and personnel are so different for the 2024 season that there's not really much to be learned.

Freeze made himself a thorn in the side of the most successful dynasty in the history of the sport, and will seek to upset Alabama at home this year with an overhauled roster despite the departure of Saban. Measuring win-loss statistics will always be reductive, and there have been numerous comments suggesting the wins Freeze has over Saban could have gone the other way. However, the mentality of believing he has a team capable of beating anyone is part of what's made him a successful coach.

Auburn will play the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on November 30th.