Auburn’s biggest loss this season is by 10 points to then No. 10 Georgia, which, in Week 8, took down undefeated Ole Miss and will be on the rise in the AP Poll. However, close doesn’t count in college football.
After leading nearly the entire way, Auburn surrendered a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to Missouri, allowing the visiting Tigers to send the game to overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Then, in OT, Hugh Freeze’s offense managed a total of -5 yards and no points on its two possessions, as Missouri escaped with a 23-17 win.
Freeze, in his third year at Auburn, has now started 0-4 in SEC play each season. Auburn, after starting the year 3-0 and climbing into the Top 25, is 3-4 and could struggle to qualify for a bowl game for the second time in Freeze’s tenure, if that tenure extends beyond Sunday.
Auburn has started 0-4 in SEC play every year in the Hugh Freeze era pic.twitter.com/06jAYsk1dm
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 19, 2025
Though it’s not quite a certainty, Auburn fans on social media have already mentally fired their head coach and begun a search for his successor.
Goodbye, Hugh Freeze. 👋🏻#Auburn fans, who should the next coach be? pic.twitter.com/y18Md9uFCc
— The Four Sportsmen (@FourSportsmenHQ) October 19, 2025
If Auburn does move on from Freeze, he will be the third head coach the program has fired in the last six years. The Tigers parted ways with Gus Malzahn in 2020, then dismissed Bryan Harsin midway through the 2022 season.
Fire Hugh Freeze on the field tonight!!!! pic.twitter.com/yEgvvODdco
— 🦚Benjamin McAliley ✈️ 🐴 (@BenMcAliley) October 19, 2025
Hugh Freeze’s big mistake will cost him
Freeze did a good job cleaning up the mess that Harsin left on The Plains. He built up a robust NIL program, which allowed him to recruit the high school ranks at an elite level. The proof of his success is all of the roster, with talented players like Cam Coleman and Keldric Faulk.
Auburn’s roster, in many ways, is strong enough to compete with the best teams in the conference. The offense is loaded with talented skill players and experienced veterans along the offensive line. The defense has been stout, led by Faulk, Keyron Crawford, and Xavier Atkins. That group has held some of the country’s most dynamic offenses in check.
However, Freeze got one decision massively wrong, and it may cost him his job. After two seasons of Payton Thorne at quarterback, Freeze took a big swing in the transfer portal this offseason to bring in Jackson Arnold from Oklahoma. Arnold has not been the answer, and the former five-star taking a sack to end the Week 8 loss was painfully fitting.
Hugh Freeze’s career should end here, like this:
— Griffin Gulledge (@griffingulledge) October 19, 2025
A terrible drive with J Arnold on the ground under defenders having not even gotten a throw off.
Story of the season. Story of his career here. Fire him and don’t look back.
Go hire Lane Kiffin or James Franklin or Jon Sumrall.