Hugh Freeze Focused on Auburn Tigers' Mentality, Not Ball State

Coming off a big 38-24 victory against Baylor, the Auburn Tigers are back home under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium to play against the Ball State Cardinals. 

A matchup that hasn’t been seen for almost 15 years.

Regardless of last Saturday’s big win in Waco, head coach Hugh Freeze is settled; only focusing on his team continuing to get better through each rep, each game. 

“We’re thrilled to get the win, on to the next one. That one goes in the trash. The goal is to be 1-0 this week. We get to come to the 16th straight sellout at Jordan-Hare. Our fans were incredible in Waco, along with our band, cheerleaders, and people who traveled there,” Freeze said earlier this week.  

The Tigers’ last home game on the Plains was against the Texas A&M Aggies in a quadruple overtime thriller. Now, fans are back in Jordan-Hare, eagerly awaiting to bring that same electric energy back into the stadium. 

As for many Auburn fans, this season almost feels like a fresh start. One that’s been needed for a long time. 

Knowing this, Freeze emphasized the importance of getting to play at home. Because history shows, playing at home in Jordan-Hare is a significant advantage. 

“..There’s nothing like playing at home. We’ve got to have an edge about us when we play here. It’s a special opportunity. This weekend is the Pat Dye players’ reunion, and it will be good to see all those guys back here. We’re thrilled to be kicking things off at home and finding a way, hopefully, to get better this week,” said Freeze.  

Despite being a heavy favorite (-43.5 points) on Saturday, Freeze highlighted to his team about having a winning mentality, no matter the opponent. 

Because at the end of the day, that’s what creates champions. 

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or what people say. I’ve had a lot of those that you get into, that’s a dogfight because you didn’t have that mentality. I hope we are at a point in year three that we have some leaders who understand it’s not about anybody other than Auburn and how we should improve each week, regardless of who we are playing,” said Freeze.

Auburn leads the series with Ball State 3-0. They’ll be looking to extend that streak, not just to go 2-0 overall, but to put themselves in good positioning before the grind of SEC play.

Each week presents new challenges and opportunities for growth, including replacing running back Damari Alston and the possibility of true freshman quarterback Deuce Knight coming in for some reps on Saturday.

No matter the changes week by week, the Tigers must sustain those adjustments to continue to succeed. Last Saturday showed many college football fans the potential of Auburn football. 

Now, as the weeks continue, Freeze calls out the leadership of the Tigers, igniting in them what exactly they want from this season. 

“If the leadership of the team truly wants to have a year that we look back on and are pleased with, there’s zero chance of that happening without us understanding that the task at hand is to better ourselves from week one to week two,” said Freeze.

The Auburn Tigers take on the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPNU.