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Hugh Freeze’s ability to match wits with Nick Saban no longer matters, and his 2-4 career record against the GOAT can no longer headline Freeze’s résumé.
Saban retired. Seven months ago. He’s a golfer and a talking head now. Saban can’t hurt Auburn anymore.
The day Saban retired, the SEC overlord mantle passed to Kirby Smart. He’s 8-1 against Auburn. He’s the nemesis Freeze ought to worry about, instead of his close misses against the retiree.
It’s perhaps because of Saban’s retirement status that Freeze boasted this summer on the SEC Network’s “Marty & McGee” that he should have four career wins against Saban instead of two.
“We did understand what complicated (Alabama’s) calls,” Freeze, Auburn’s second-year coach, said during that TV appearance, “and, honestly, Nick is incredible, but I should have four wins against him.”
Honestly, Freeze blew those winnable games against Alabama while Ole Miss’ coach in 2016 and in the Iron Bowl last year. And he knows it.
“You have to get it done when you have the chances,” Freeze said Tuesday on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” while elaborating on his previous remarks about Saban.
Yep. And get it done against New Mexico State, too, instead of losing by three touchdowns.
But, enough about yesteryear. And, enough about Saban. Because something stirs in Auburn.
This proud program, once one of the SEC’s finest, spent the past few years in a coma. The Auburn revival still has a ways to go, but I detect signs of life.
The stench of the Bryan Harsin era is starting to lift, and Freeze smells blooming crepe myrtles.
“The team’s culture is better. The team’s chemistry is better. The team’s accountability is better. The effort is better,” Freeze told reporters last week. “Our roster is better. I don’t know what that means for Year 2, but I…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/auburn-coach-hugh-freeze-stop-140250207.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-08-16 14:02:50
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