Auburn football HC Hugh Freeze has one ‘goal’ for the rest of this season

All season long, Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze has had themes of the week, messages he gives to the team before the beginning of the season.

It has not been an easy ride for the Tigers so far, getting off to a strong start before conference play and then going on a four-game losing streak to some of the best teams in the country.

Now, the Tigers have two conference wins under their belts and have logged five wins, just one victory away from securing bowl eligibility, which is something Auburn football failed to do last season. Freeze noted that he doesn’t like to make goals, but rather focuses on how to level up the competitiveness of the program.

With three tough but winnable games left on the schedule, the themes have gone out the window and Freeze is leaning into setting one goal, per Auburn Undercover:

"“I’m not big on goals — I’m big on ‘what are we doing today to get us closer to our competitiveness in this conference?’” Freeze said postgame. “I kind of went away from that some and made it clear. I erased all of our themes from the first half of the season and I put our last five games up and said the first logical step in our rebuild here is gaining bowl eligibility — which we’ve done every year I have taken over a program in the first year. Whether it was Arkansas State, Ole Miss or Liberty. I think that’s really invaluable to be able to do that.”"

It echoes what several players have already said, including veteran cornerback Jaylin Simpson, who noted earlier this season that getting to a bowl game would allow the team to feel a kind of success at the end of Freeze’s first year on the Plains.

Making a bowl game is important for this team not only because it allows for extra practice in the post-season but also because many of the players on the roster have not had a real bowl experience yet. Last season Auburn football did not make a bowl game, and the year before was just a quick trip to Birmingham for a tough loss. And, of course, 2020’s post-season was mired by COVID-19.

Quarterback Payton Thorne said it best:

"“That’s big for a first-year coach and coaching staff and not being in a bowl game last year,” Thorne said. “Just making that step forward and getting on the right track. We can’t do anything about our four losses but we can do something about these games in front of us.”"

Despite the adversity the Tigers have faced so far this season, they are focused on moving forward and playing their best in the games remaining on the schedule.