Auburn HC Hugh Freeze Following Loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl

Following Auburn's 28-14 loss to Alabama in the 89th Iron Bowl on Saturday night, November 30th, 2024, Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze spoke with reporters about his team's performance in the game and this season.

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Hugh Freeze began his press conference by saying, "Disappointing to end the season the way we did," as the Tigers fall to 5-7 on the season, with tonight's loss ruining Auburn's chances of making a bowl game.

Freeze noted, "It could have been a different game" when discussing the Tigers' offense's failures to finish drives, with Auburn scoring only 6 points after four trips to the Tide's red zone.

Freeze admitted that he "regrets calling the tempo play on third and one." This decision led to Auburn's senior running back, Jarquez Hunter, being surrounded by several Alabama defenders because Auburn's offensive line did not get fully set. As a result, the team lost one yard, forcing the Tigers to settle for a field goal from the Tide's two-yard line.

The head coach of the Tigers addressed a missed opportunity involving Keandre Lambert-Smith, a senior wide receiver and transfer from Penn State. Lambert-Smith was open in the corner of the end zone; however, the pass from senior quarterback Payton Thorne was overthrown with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter. As a result, the team settled for a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown.

Freeze noted, "I think the difference in the game is their third down conversions." The Tide converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts, while the Tigers only converted 4 of 12. Freeze said one factor that could have contributed to the defenses' inability to get off the field on third down was the team being "thin," which led to them "looking gassed at times," resulting in the Tide having a Time of Possession of 36:35 throughout the game compared to Auburn's 23:35.

When discussing Auburn's trick play, which occurred 12 minutes into the fourth quarter following a massive sack by Tigers senior linebacker Jalen Mcleod, which forced a fumble that was recovered by Tigers sophomore defensive lineman Keldrick Faulk on Alabama's 49-yard line. This trick play led to an interception inside Alabama's 10-yard line. Freeze accepted responsibility for calling the play, saying, "Obviously, we did not coach it well enough. There is a post-safety there. You don't throw that; you throw the screen back to Payton." Freeze continued: "I think that it had a shot to have a really big play, but obviously, we didn't coach Jarquez well enough on that."

Freeze praised Milroe, stating, "You knew how good Milroe was and what he could do with his feet and his arm." Milroe rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns tonight while throwing for 256 yards.

To conclude the press conference, Freeze agreed with a reporter when he said that frustrating is a good word, to sum up this season for the Tigers, with Auburn finishing the 2024 season with a 28-14 loss to their in-state rivals in the Iron Bowl, dropping the Tigers to 5-7 as the season ended Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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