The Auburn Tigers lost yet another game on the final drive in Week 5, coming from behind to nearly stun the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field but ultimately falling short in a 16-10 defensive battle. AU moves to 3-2, and looks destined for .500 with a battle against the Georgia Bulldogs looming after the bye week.
Is there a silver lining? Saturday Down South's David Wasson believes so. Wasson claims Tiger fans should be happy that Auburn brought Texas A&M down to the final minute on the road in front of the 12th Man at Kyle Field.
Wasson thinks Tiger fans need to be happy that the team didn't get crushed.
"While it would be easy to agree with Freeze and proclaim Auburn having taken a step backwards against Texas A&M, a more reasoned perspective is that seeing Auburn playing a top-10 SEC team on the road down to the nub is proof that Freeze has the Tigers pointed in the right direction," Wasson wrote.
"They want no moral victories do the Tigers, nor should they. But anyone who watched all 60 minutes at Kyle Field on Saturday could plainly see that this isn’t the same Auburn program that has stumbled its way to 4-straight losing seasons coming into 2025.
"They always say you are what your record says, and Auburn’s record clearly says it is 3-2 with precious little relief in sight. No. 5 Georgia visits the Plains in 2 weeks, with No. 20 Missouri right behind it. And don’t even think about the likes of a resurgent Vanderbilt or the annual Iron Bowl tussle against Alabama at the end of the regular season.
"For now, Auburn fans, simply widen out the lens a bit. This Tigers team may have lost on Saturday, but it didn’t get crushed. This Tigers team might have issues on third down – converting just 3 for 27 in the past 2 games (both narrow losses on the road to top-12 SEC teams). This Tigers team may not be in contention for the SEC title or a College Football Playoff berth this season."
So in Freeze's third year, the fanbase should be happy about close losses, Wasson writes. And this writer is here to say: absolutely not.
2023 was the transitional year where Freeze picked up the pieces from the Bryan Harsin era and brought a level of respectability to the field. AU did that, almost beating Georgia and the Alabama Crimson Tide at home and making a bowl game after a late-season surge against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Arkansas Razorbacks. If it wasn't for the New Mexico State Aggies massacre in Week 12, 2023 would've been seen as a successful season.
No matter. Seven wins, six wins, the Tigers looked hopeful in Freeze's debut season, by and large.
2024 was supposed to be the "lose close games and be happy" year. SEC rebuilds don't take two years to complete, like say the TCU Horned Frogs taking over the Big 12 in 2022 during Sonny Dykes' first year in charge. But good ones show progress, and there wasn't much to be had last year.
The prevailing thought was that Payton Thorne was the problem. So Freeze spent millions of dollars to find his answer under center in Jackson Arnold. But now the question of who can lead the Tigers to victory from the quarterback position persists.
Freeze not figuring out the QB position in three years is an irreversible failure. That there are calls for Deuce Knight to take over after two SEC games means Arnold was a questionable purchase, at best.
It's 2025. This was supposed to be the year of maturation from potential to contender. Early returns in SEC play show that timeline is premature.
At this point, though, it's fair to wonder if Freeze ever will figure it out. We are absolutely not supposed to be in this stage of the rebuild at this point, and Freeze himself would probably admit that.
So with that said, no, not a single Auburn fan should feel that losing close games is anything close to acceptable.
Be mad. Don't excuse another failure, another misuse of the SEC's most talented receiving corps, and a letdown for a DJ Durkin-coached defense that's completely capable of propping up a respectable team.
125 passing yards against a TAMU defense that hadn't previously given up fewer than three touchdowns with the weapons AU has is malpractice. Malpractice doesn't get a pat on the back because some spreads were covered.
Freeze deserves no benefit of the doubt anymore. Reject Wasson's premise like a spam call.