Auburn fans learned a little about what kind of football team the Tigers have in the season-opening win at Baylor. They saw a quarterback who wasn't afraid to use his legs if that meant winning a game, a defense that was a little shoddy at tackling, and a rushing attack behind an offensive line that looked as good as it had in years.
And while Ball State and South Alabama aren't pushovers, little was learned during those two games leading up to SEC play.
Well, buckle up, because it is about to get full-on exam time for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers as they head to Norman to face Oklahoma to start quite a gauntlet of upcoming opponents.
"When I watch the tape, I’m looking, to me, at a team that should be in the playoff discussions," Freeze said about the Sooners. "They’re that talented and that good. It looks like, watching around, I think our league is very, very deep, and I think we’re playing one of the better teams in it this Saturday. That’s probably going to be the case for the next few Saturdays. That’s why you come to Auburn. That’s why you coach, that’s why you play here. That defense is one of the more talented ones I’ve seen.”
This will by far be the best team and defense that the Tigers have faced this season, and it will only get tougher as they travel to Texas A&M before hosting Georgia after a bye week. After an offseason in which Freeze's job status was a topic of conversation, the 3-0 star with the win at Baylor, which looks better every week, helps, but winning on the road against some of the elite in the SEC will be on a different level.
The Sooners have rebounded from a disappointing 2024 by starting 3-0 with a massive home win against Michigan. Transfer quarterback John Mateer is being hyped as a current favorite for the Heisman Trophy, and the Sooners ranked No. 4 in total defense, allowing a mere 181 yards per game.
Saturday's matchup between the two ranked teams will go a long way in determining who is one of the favorites to make the SEC Championship Game and who will have a lot of work to do to make the trip to Atlanta. It won't determine the season for either team, but a win would be a major springboard toward a fantastic season.
As Freeze said, this is why you come to Auburn.