Auburn coach Hugh Freeze made it clear that the Tigers lost to a weaker team when they lost 24-14 to Arkansas at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking on Tiger Talk with the Auburn Sports Network on Monday night, Freeze said Auburn's recent home loss, much like its loss to Cal on Sept. 7, was particularly frustrating because of the quality of the opponent.
“I don't mean to insult Arkansas at all … I love [coach] “I hope Sam Pittman wins his remaining games, but I'll tell you the hard truth is, if we play them nine more times, we've beaten them nine times,” Freeze said Monday. “It's hard to take, and it's hard on our fans, I'm sure, and it's hard on us for sure.”
Freeze led Auburn's five turnovers, which limited the Tigers to 61 plays. Auburn beat Arkansas 431-334, but the Razorbacks ran 22 more plays and scored 10 points off turnovers.
The second-year Auburn coach had a similar message at his press conference on Monday: “I certainly don't want to disappoint Arkansas, congratulations to Coach Pittman. … But we definitely felt like we could win the game. And when you don't do that, it's upsetting.”
Auburn also had five turnovers in its home loss to Cal. Freeze said Auburn's offensive identity doesn't need to change and said it's “sickening” that the team averages 8 yards per play but “doesn't score the points that those stats are supposed to.”
He said Auburn will evaluate quarterbacks Payton Thorne and Hank Brown throughout the week before deciding who starts against Oklahoma. Freeze said Thorne, who replaced Brown in the second half against Arkansas, “looked really good.”
