Hugh Freeze does damage control after misleading Auburn football schedule remark

Hugh Freeze had to do damage control on October 2 following remarks to reporters in Birmingham earlier in the day that he’d “miss playing Georgia every year” in the aftermath of a 27-20 Georgia victory over Auburn football on September 30 — clarifying that he doesn’t actually know the scheduling fate of the Tigers in the future when the SEC adds Texas and Oklahoma and does away with the two-division format.

“Let’s really clarify that,” Freeze said (h/t AL.com). “I have no clue what’s going on with future schedules and that hasn’t come to the coaches (for review) at all. What I totally meant by that was, there’s a lot of great rivalries in our conference and there’s new teams coming and I think it’s going to be an exciting brand of football for people to see Texas (and Oklahoma).

“But should there be years where you’re not playing some (traditional opponents) that would be, I’m sure, disappointing to some people in certain years. But I have no clue what the future scheduling is, nor has it been discussed with us as coaches. I know what next year’s (schedule) is, and that’s as far as I know. So I was using a hypothetical and certainly hope everybody clears that up.”

Auburn football schedule likely to include Georgia in the future

The fixed permanent conference rivalry for the Auburn football program moving forward will be Alabama per the new SEC setup. Every other school on AU’s conference schedule will be a revolving opponent every other year.

Every opponent but Georgia. More than likely, the Tigers will keep Georgia on the schedule via a “non-conference” scheduling maneuver pulled by UNC and Wake Forest in 2019 and 2021 to keep the in-state rivalry going.

The odds that the television networks will forego the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry just aren’t very likely.