AUBURN | When Hugh Freeze was hired Nov. 28, 2022, there were two reasonable expectations for his time heading Auburn’s football program.
The first was to elevate the Tigers’ recruiting among the nation’s elite.
That was evident from the start as Freeze and his staff added a dozen high-profile prospects to the 2023 class in just three short weeks.
That elite recruiting has continued with Auburn signing the nation’s No. 7 class in 2024 and currently ranked with the No. 5 2025 class and No. 1 2026 class.
Freeze is on the cusp of bringing more talent to Auburn than it’s seen since the height of the Pat Dye era nearly four decades ago.
The second was to establish a high-powered passing offense the likes of which Auburn hasn’t seen in years.
It’s taken more time to get there, but we saw it for the first time Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn threw for 451 yards against Alabama A&M, which is the second-most all time. Most of that, 322 yards, came in the first half with the second half cut from 30 to 20 minutes.
The Tigers scored 52 points in the first half, also the second-most in school history.
Sure, the Bulldogs were out-matched at every position. But it’s also true that AU has played plenty of out-matched opponents in its 132-year history.
This change is real because of some key offseason moves by Freeze, and we’ll see plenty more of it this season
It started, of course, with recruiting. Four true freshmen and three transfers have transformed Auburn’s wide receiver room. Those seven players combined for 14 receptions for 393 yards and six touchdowns.
Freeze also took on more responsibility with the offense and brought in offensive coordinator Derrick Nix and elevated quarterbacks coach Kent Austin, two talented coaches he’s worked with in the past and know his offense inside and out.
The results were evident last night with more to come this season.
It won’t be perfect, and AU’s freshmen receivers will certainly face plenty of adversity when they have to play on the road at big SEC stadiums and go against future NFL cornerbacks.
But Saturday night was a big step forward. Defenses will have to respect and game plan for AU’s big-play ability in the passing game, which can also open up more possibilities in the running game.
That wasn’t the case a year ago.
But it can be the case for many years to come with Freeze at the helm.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 43 years to the release of an album that included a song that hit the top of both the pop and R&B charts and became one of the most sampled songs in hip hop history. On Sept. 1, 1981, Hall & Oates released their 10th studio album, Private Eyes, which included two No. 1 singles in “Private Eyes” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” Released during the holiday season in 1981, “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” rose to the top of the Billboard 100 and the Billboard Hot R&B on Jan. 30, 1982. Daryl Hall came up with the song during a recording session in 1981. John Oates and songwriter Sara Allen helped put together the lyrics. According to Oates, the song was about not letting labels, agents or managers in the music industry interfere with the creative process. Michael Jackson used the base line from “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” for his hit single, “Billie Jean.” It has been sampled in more than 80 songs including 1989’s “Say No Go” by De La Soul, 1997’s “I’ll Do Anything” by Heavy D, 1998’s “I Can’t Go for That” by 2 Live Crew, 2003’s “Sunrise” by Simply Red and 2020’s “”Can’t Go for That” by 2 Chainz. VH1 listed “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” sixth on its list of the 100 greatest songs from the 1980’s.
Daryl Franklin Hohl, who was born in Pottstown, Penn., in 1946, and John William Oates, who was born in New York in 1948, met for the first time during a band competition at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia in 1967. They were both heading separate groups at the time but also both attending Temple. They eventually became roommates and formed their duo in 1970 with Hall serving primarily as lead vocalist and Oates as lead guitarist and backup vocalist. They released their first three albums under Atlantic Records but didn’t have their first hit until moving to RCA Records with 1975’s “Sara Smile.” A re-release of 1973’s “She’s Gone” also made the top 10, and the duo had their first No. 1 single with 1977’s “Rich Girl.” They’ve released a total of 18 albums over 34 years and had three other No. 1 songs in 1981’s “Kiss On My List,” 1982’s “Maneater” and 1984’s “Out Of Touch.” Other top 10 hits include 1981’s “You Make My Dreams” and 1983’s “Say It Isn’t So” and “One On One.” They continued to perform and tour together through 2023 until a bitter breakup that included Hall filing a lawsuit and restraining order against Oates due to financial disagreements. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. They have sold more than 80 million albums, which makes them the most successful duo of all time.
