Hugh Freeze Says He'd Never Throw Auburn Players Under The Bus Before Immediately Throwing Them Under The Bus

Year one for Hugh Freeze at Auburn has not gone as planned. The Tigers sit at 3-4 on the season and 0-4 in the SEC, and while those records paint a pretty grim picture, they don't explain the full story of how woeful Auburn has looked more often than not this season.

Freeze took the Auburn job after being tabbed as one of the great offensive coaches in college football with his successes at Ole Miss and Liberty. Through seven games this season, Auburn ranks dead-last in the SEC averaging just 151 passing yards per game, and second to last in total yards per game averaging 337 yards per contest.

After another lackluster performance on offense in a 28-21 loss at home to Ole Miss this past weekend, it's become clear Freeze has reached his peak level of frustration.

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During his weekly press conference on Monday, Freeze made note of Auburn's first play from scrimmage against Ole Miss explaining the lack of execution, which is fair, but the way he delivered the message was questionable, at best.

Hugh Freeze threw Auburn players under the bus after saying he never would following Tigers' loss to Ole Miss. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

Freeze completely threw quarterback Robby Ashford under the bus seconds after saying he'd never throw his players under the bus.

"The last thing I ever want to do is throw our kids under the bus," Freeze said. "Because they're trying hard. And I'm not going to do that. But y'all have been around the game long enough to know that sometimes you might have a really good call and it just didn't get executed right. ... Play 1 of the game should've been, like, maybe a 50-yard run. Go watch the film."

"Everybody thinks it's going to be a zone read (but we ran) a zone slap play where there ain't no read. You hand that sucker off and the 'backer fit outside and there's a crease right up the chute. I obviously didn't coach him well enough on kind of what was going on there."

Frustrations In Auburn Are Very Real

The fact that Freeze turned on the game film on Sunday and his team's very first play had him so frustrated that he brought it up in front of the media 48 hours after the loss perfectly represents not only how much the Auburn offense is struggling, but the mental space Freeze is in when it comes to some of his players.

The Tigers rotated quarterbacks against the Rebels with Payton Thorne and Ashford both taking snaps under center. While it resulted in Auburn scoring 21 points - its highest total against an SEC opponent this season - the gameplan wasn't good enough to upset Ole Miss.

If there's one defense on Freeze's behalf for showing a bit of frustration in his press conference it's the fact that Auburn did run through a gauntlet over the past four weeks. A trip to Texas A&M before hosting No. 1 Georgia, traveling to LSU, and then playing host to Ole Miss is brutal.

Follow Mark Harris on X @ItIsMarkHarris or email him at mark.harris@outkick.com