The Auburn Tigers beat the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas, 38-24 on Friday night in one the most awe-inspiring performances of the Hugh Freeze era. Auburn got a heroic performance from Jackson Arnold, several 70-plus-yard rushing performances, and strong offensive line play.
That was just Baylor, though.
As AL.com's Peter Rauterkus notes, things get significantly tougher when SEC play begins with a Week 4 trip to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.
"Given the context of its seven losses a year ago, Auburn shouldn’t take beating a 'pretty good football team' for granted. Each time the Tigers were on the verge of that in 2024, some kind of mistake or flurry of missteps would ruin the day," Rauterkus wrote.
"Are those collapses in the past? It didn’t happen on Friday, but Baylor is still far from the best team the Tigers will face this season."
Baylor was part one of a four-part test that could determine if Freeze will keep his jobT -- the other three tests coming against the Oklahoma Sooners on the road in Week 4, Texas A&M on the road in Week 5, and the Georgia Bulldogs in Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 7.
"(Paul) Finebaum believes that if Freeze does not perform well in the upcoming four games against the Baylor Bears, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies and Georgia Bulldogs, three of which are on the road, he could be fired as the head coach," relayed Athlon Sports' Jaron Spor.
The first part of the test was passed with flying colors. If he can continue his masterful play-calling and delegation of duties, there's no reason to think the hot seat conversations will fire back up.
Perhaps College Football Playoff conversations can happen instead.
Freeze made believers out of skeptics in Week 1. This one included.