Auburn football: Hugh Freeze not letting Iron Bowl distract from NMSU

The Auburn football team is on a roll right now. The Tigers are coming off three straight SEC wins, the most recent being the absolute demolition of Arkansas on their home turf. There has also been major recruiting success lately, with three new commits in the last week or so in Laquan Robinson, Jamonta Waller, and Ryan Ghea.

With so much momentum, it seems to be almost a given that the Tigers are going to be victorious this weekend over New Mexico State. In fact, most fans are already looking towards the following week and the best football game of the year, The Iron Bowl.

But for head coach Hugh Freeze, it’s important that Alabama does not become a distraction for the Auburn football program ahead of the New Mexico State matchup. It would be devastating for the Tigers to take a loss right before the Iron Bowl, and Freeze himself is familiar with the feeling of losing to NMSU.

The Aggies were the final opponent on Liberty’s schedule last year, a matchup that took place while Freeze was being considered for the Auburn job. New Mexico State walloped the Flames, serving them a 49-14 loss to end their regular season.

This year, Freeze is determined to avoid a repeat loss to the Aggies and refuses to let Iron Bowl buzz result in a late-season loss for his team, per AL.com:

"“It’s going to test our maturity” Freeze said. “We’ll talk about it today in our team meeting, and that’ll be my message: We won’t talk about the other team that you mentioned, we’ll talk about the one we have right in front of us that could sting us. And I’ve experienced that before.”"

The Auburn football team will host the New Mexico State Aggies this weekend in Jordan-Hare Stadium for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff time on the Plains.