AUBURN | It’s not a comparison any Auburn team would want to face again.

The Tigers are averaging 337.0 yard of total offense through the first severn games this season, their worst production since 2012.

That 2012 team, of course, finished 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC and marked the end of the Gene Chizik era after a rollercoaster four years.

“I'm not content, though, with anything now offensively,” said first-year AU coach Hugh Freeze.

It’s unfamiliar territory for Freeze, whose Liberty team averaged 436.9 yards per game over the previous four season. In five seasons at Ole Miss, Freeze’s offense averaged 459.7.

“I think you can go look at my offensive stats everywhere I've been, and the answer is no, never,” said Freeze. “So, those are the challenging times that I think, boy, they hit you right in the face. You ask a lot of questions, and it certainly challenges you.

“But I do think that's where the most growth happens for people that handle it the right way. We've played some good football teams, and some of it's us, some of it's them. But, no, I haven't experienced a stretch quite like that.”

Auburn is actually fourth in the SEC averaging 186.0 rushing yards per game, but its passing attack is averaging just 151.0 yards per game, which ranks 124th out of 133 D-I schools.

Freeze, however, remains confident Auburn can turn around its passing attack starting this week against Mississippi State.

“I'm always an optimist,” he said. “I thought we were gonna be pretty good last week, and I'm gonna believe that this week also. I'm gonna do everything within my power, as soon as I get through with this meeting, to get started on that and see how much better we can get this week.

“It's obvious we can get better. We should be able to get better. That will be the goal. My focus will be on that this week."

Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.