Hugh Freeze’s first year projected to be like ex-Auburn SEC champion HC’s

The first year of the Hugh Freeze era of Auburn football was predicted by Saturday Down South’s Glenn Sattell to go just as Gene Chizik’s; seven wins, five losses, and the potential for a national championship in the future.

“That’s not the national championship game that Gus Malzahn’s Auburn team achieved in his 1st season on The Plains, but it’s a start,” Sattell wrote of his bold prediction for the 2023 season. “You’ll remember that Gene Chizik went 7-5 in his 1st season at Auburn, then won a national championship in his 2nd year.

“That’s the formula Auburn fans are hoping is repeated with Freeze, whose Ole Miss teams improved with each year until the last, when allegations began piling up and interfering with his progress in Oxford.”

Auburn football season would be a success in 2023 with at least seven wins

Freeze’s hard work on the recruiting trail has created artificially high expectations for the 2023 season for the Auburn family. Years of under-recruitment in the trenches on both sides of the ball led to a slew of transfers, and in the SEC, there’s no guarantee for success even if the talent looks good on paper. Add the need to integrate a new coaching staff along with so many incoming transfers, and there’s the possibility the Tigers will take a few licks in the SEC West’s swan song.

That said, getting to seven wins on the schedule would move the needle toward respectability. The 2024 recruiting class features some of the highest-caliber of recruits the Plains has seen in the College Football Playoff era, so laying the groundwork now could bear fruit in the coming years.

With Freeze bringing new energy — and extra fans to the stadium for a sold-out schedule for season ticket holders — there’s more than enough reason to believe seven wins will be the floor for AU in 2023.