Payton Thorne was dejected in the locker room following Auburn's 27-21 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. After playing all game solidly, a costly interception returned for a touchdown gave the Sooners a lead they would never relinquish.

His head coach, however, couldn't have been more proud of Thorne.

"I told him after the game that I thought, not just him, I thought he laid it on the line for our kids, our team, our program," Hugh Freeze said. "He sacrificed his body; he gave himself up many times to give us first downs."

Thorne finished 21-of-32 for 338 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 17 times for 23 yards. Most of those runs came on what Freeze calls the "oh crap" rule when progressions aren't coming through, and the only option is to see how many yards he can get to put Auburn in a better situation for the next down. Thorne was sacked four times, three of those coming in the last 2:40 of the game when Oklahoma could tee off knowing Auburn was in passing situations.

"I thought he really, really played solid," Freeze said. "Obviously he wishes he had one throw back, as everybody does."

It was the type of performance that Freeze and his staff anticipated from Thorne when they brought him back as the bonafide starter for this season. And, after being benched following the Cal game, it proved why he will be the starter going forward.

"It's kind of what we expect out of him at the start of the season and moving forward -- and moving forward it's what we'll expect," Freeze said. "It's hard to say he's not the starter in these kinds of games. I think he gives us the best chance to win as long as he keeps taking care of the football like he did."