It’s been almost 50 years since a new Auburn coach got absolutely waxed in his inaugural Alabama game.

Since then, every new head coach has at least made a strong showing — Pat Dye and Tommy Tuberville both had fourth-quarter leads before much deeper Tide teams walked away late in 1981 and 1999, respectively.

Terry Bowden and Gus Malzahn won their initial outings in historic fashion, both against excellent Bama teams.

And there are three near-misses from Gene Chizik, Bryan Harsin and now Hugh Freeze, each more excruciating than the one before.

If Bama 2009 and 2021 were “games that got away,” 2023 is a twisting knife in the guts.

Getting crushed, the near-universal expectation prior to kickoff, would have been far less painful.

After the previous week’s debacle, who was going to win was a decidedly lesser question prior to kickoff than, “How is Auburn only a two-touchdown underdog?”

Instead, the Tigers played by far their best game of the year against a strong opponent.

There was a lot to love from Auburn Saturday. Running the ball right down Alabama’s throat for multiple scores. Finding just enough of a passing game to pull ahead.

Maligned as too thin and lacking talent, the Auburn defense strengthened over the course of the game, forcing a missed field goal and two straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter for what should have been enough to win.

Should have been.

And there was also the dumb stuff.

Returning kickoffs out of the end zone, which Auburn has inexplicably been doing in bad situations since at least the Cal game.

Subbing in Robby Ashford in the fourth quarter, netting one entirely too cute halfback pass and one entirely predictable keeper for a big loss.

Trying to pass during the last couple of possessions when Auburn had run all over Alabama all day long and needed to keep the clock moving. You can’t afford to be dumb when you’re outmanned, even when you’re otherwise playing well.

And of course, unforgivably going into a deep prevent with no pressure on 4th-and-31, and somehow still leaving a guy in single coverage.

It’s all so awfully … familiar.

It’s been this way for too often for Auburn during the past decade or so — just a little more defense or a little more offense.

Just don’t muff a punt return.

Just make one more play.

One. More. Play.

Intellectually, I understand that we ought to look at this one and the Georgia game in very similar lights. Given the states of the rosters, playing both of those teams down to the wire and coming up just short is about as much as we could realistically ask for this season.

Sure doesn’t feel that way today, though. This feels more like deja-vu.

We were here 24 months ago — with another sterling Auburn effort that ended in tears with a handful of seconds left.

That game turned out to be a shiny bauble of false hope that briefly obscured the reality of an incompetent regime.

To be clear, I think Freeze is a better football coach than Bryan Harsin. Of course, I also think my sister’s dog is probably a better football coach than Bryan Harsin, but that’s neither important right now nor any particular reflection on Freeze.

I don’t expect Auburn to collapse in 2024 the way it did in 2022. But after these last two weeks, it’s hard to look ahead without trepidation.

Right or wrong, reasonable or unreasonable, that’s what it feels like today.

Freeze’s task in his next outings, along with forwarding the roster rebuild, will be to put to rest that nagging fear. You know the one. Will they again find a way to lose?

That may be a tall ask. The stirring highs and abysmal lows of the past two Saturdays will be the boundaries going forward.

How close Freeze can get Auburn back to the former, and away from the latter, ultimately will tell his tale.