Hugh Freeze achieves nightmarish feat with Auburn football only Bryan Harsin achieved previously
Hugh Freeze made unfortunate history when his Auburn football team blew a 14-point lead to Missouri in an eventual 21-17 loss: he blew a 14-point lead and lost for only the second time in the last two decades (h/t OutKick's Barrett Sallee). Only Bryan Harsin had previously done that in a 43-34 loss they were up 18 points at halftime during.
As bland as Gus Malzahn's offensive sets were, he didn't have losing seasons. And his teams certainly never blew leads like his two successors did. As bad as the Gene Chizik era got, this kind of loss didn't happen then either. Tommy Tuberville didn't let this happen.
This is bad. Auburn is not moving in the right direction from a momentum perspective, even though the talent on the field is much improved from the 2022 season, Harsin's last, and the 2023 season. AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky illustrated the point in the immediate aftermath of the loss.
"Bryan Harsin never started 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the SEC," Scarbinsky prefaced before saying, "Said it before, and it bears repeating. Hugh Freeze is who we thought he was. Another mistaken hire by Auburn football."
When Harsin cheers to the winners, he'll be saluting the last team he beat as Auburn's head coach, Mizzou. He'll likely feel good that AU is still not in the winner's circle despite being repeatedly blamed for their downfall in the NIL era.
Bryan Harsin set the program back, but Auburn football should be ahead of where it is right now
Harsin didn't pick up the phone and make the introduction calls to high school head coaches across the state. He undeniably set the program back.
But Harsin isn't to blame for losses like the Missouri loss. QBs can't look like world-beaters every week. Carson Beck, Michael Hawkins Jr., and Talen Green all did. Brady Cook did in the second half for Missouri.
Rinse and repeat.
This cannot continue. But it might. Brock Vandagriff, Diego Pavia, General Booty, Conner Weigman, and Jalen Milroe are all worthy challenges.
Freeze's defensive coaching hires need to figure out how to stop this trend. But until they do, AU's ceiling may not be high enough to compete in conference play.