Loss to Missouri Reinforces Hugh Freeze’s Fatal Flaw

Auburn fans are beginning to see consistency from their head coach finally, but not the right kind. The Auburn Tigers (now 3-4) dropped their fourth straight game on Saturday in a 20-17 double-overtime loss to Missouri. It was a game that looked all too familiar to the Auburn faithful, with it being yet another close game late lost due to a lackluster offensive performance.

Elite Defensive Performance Goes to Waste

If, last week, you could peer into the future and see that Auburn forced two interceptions from Beau Pribula, held Ahmad Hardy under 60 yards and held Missouri scoreless in the third quarter you would almost certainly think Auburn walked out of this game with a win, right? 

It was another stellar performance from an Auburn defense that has wreaked havoc on SEC offenses this season. The marquee matchup, the Auburn defensive line vs. Missouri’s backfield was won by Auburn in a big way. Hardy averaged 2.4 yards per carry, rushing for only 58 yards on 24 attempts. He led Missouri’s top ten rushing attack which was held to only 91 yards on the ground. 

Through the air? Despite a solid second half against a tired defense, Pribula completed under 60% of his passes and threw two interceptions, the second of which came on the final drive of regulation. 

Missouri scored just one time in the second half of regulation. It came in the form of a game-tying three yard rushing touchdown from Hardy. That tied the game with five minutes left.

Missed Opportunities on Offense

Where Auburn went wrong, once again, was on the offensive side of the ball.  Wide receiver Cam Coleman had a season-high 108 yards on six receptions. That included a 35-yard catch to get inside the red zone late in the second quarter. After they were unable to convert on third down, kicker Alex McPherson missed a 40-yard field goal. That essentially ended the half down 10-7. 

Another bright spot was running back Jeremiah Cobb, who had one of his better performances of the season. He gained 111 yards on 19 carries, highlighted by a 42-yard outside run in the third quarter. That drive, however, ended with the second of three missed field goals by McPherson, from 38 yards out.

McPherson, who is still physically recovering from Ulcerative Colitis, missed three field goals (40 yds, 38 yds and 50 yds in OT) on Saturday. 

After the opening scripted drive, there was zero rhythm for quarterback Jackson Arnold to get rolling. The blame is hardly only on him, however, with both tackles consistently allowing Missouri’s dynamic pass rush to get him off balance. 

After Missouri tied the game late in the 4th, Auburn began putting together a drive to potentially win the game. It got into Missouri territory, and on 3rd and nine with three minutes to go, a pass bounced off the hands of tight end Preston Howard, forcing Auburn to punt.

Can the Pattern Be Broken Before It’s Too Late?

We are now in the age of impatience in college football. With the rise of private equity funding programs, it seems the leash is getting shorter for coaches every season.  Freeze, now in his third season, has shown a high-level ability to attract top recruits and transfers. Outside of that, his offenses have underperformed, he can’t seem to figure out the quarterback position and he still hasn’t finished a season above .500. 

The way things are trending, it likely won’t happen this year, either. With the current climate, it’s only a matter of time before the braintrust and donors decide they’re tired of watching Auburn drop winnable games, almost always in the same fashion.

With loads of high-end talent and an elite defense at his disposal, excuses are beginning to run thin.