AUBURN | With the turnovers and the losses piling up, Auburn could be facing a fourth consecutive losing season.
In a 24-14 loss to Arkansas at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers committed five more turnovers to bring their season total to an alarming 14.
“I don't have the words. It is just sickening,” said Freeze. “Sickening that we can't take care of the football on the offense and just got, I've got to get that fixed.”
Another concern for Auburn’s second-year head coach, which just might heighten that sickening feeling, is how the struggles on offense and the growing number of losses could impact recruiting.
Freeze and his staff are recruiting at a very high level. They signed the nation’s No. 8 class in 2024 and currently have the No. 4 class in ’25 and No. 1 class in ’26.
It’s been several decades since Auburn has recruited at this level, but can it be sustained if Auburn can’t build up any momentum on the field?
“I can't answer that,” said Freeze. “I've been consistent with my message of how I want to build it and that's through high school recruiting and hopefully they see that they can come in and help us. There will be growing pains, just like we're experiencing.
“So hopefully those '25 recruits see that, 'Man, coach is telling me the truth. He's building this and he's going to do it with us.' That takes some patience. People have to decide if that's what they're wanting to do it like or not. But I think it's the best thing for Auburn in the long term.
“But in the mean time, we should expect to play better. We've got to make catches when they come our way and we've got to make throws. And we certainly can't turn the ball over like we're doing right now.”
Auburn, which fell to 2-2 on the season, closes out a five-game homestand next Saturday against No. 15 Oklahoma. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 or 3:15 p.m. CT.
