Let’s hear from the folks on The Plains
Only two regular season games left, and Texas A&M still controls their own destiny in the SEC and the College Football Playoff. This Saturday they head to Auburn for their final road game of the season for a nighttime tilt against the Tigers. To learn a bit more from the opposing side, we spoke to Nathan King, who covers Auburn for 247 Sports’ AuburnUndercover.com.
Good Bull Hunting: With two games left in a disappointing season, what’s the general pulse of the Auburn fanbase?
Nathan King: Dejected about 2024, but hopeful for the future. This season has been an extremely frustrating one, as Auburn lost three home games where it committed 10 combined turnovers, looked anemic offensively against Vanderbilt, and blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter at Missouri. The Tigers are not a dreadful football team by any means, but they struggle to play cohesively for four quarters. The biggest issue has been finishing drives and finishing games on offense, hindered by shaky quarterback play and, to be frank, some questionable coaching decisions in crunch time.
What should have been some light improvement in year two under Hugh Freeze instead turned into a brutal and maddening few months. December will begin another hopeful offseason, as Auburn has stacked a couple top-10 recruiting classes, with the potential for the 2025 haul to finish in the top five
This offseason will be longer than the last, though, as the Tigers will shake their heads over what a “what if” season. Freeze has a lot of questions to answer after failing to get the program back on the winning track.
Most of the fanbase, I think, understands the rebuild Freeze walked into, and didn’t expect championship contention in year two. But I also think most of the fanbase views losses to Cal, Arkansas and Vanderbilt — all at home — as wholly unacceptable. Both can be true.
GBH: Is there any buyers’ remorse setting in for the Hugh Freeze hire, or do folks still seem to believe he’ll get the program headed in the right direction?
NK: Auburn’s standards for what constitutes a “bad loss” have continually been lowered, and that’s the most concerning thing about the Freeze tenure thus far. Some believe Freeze to be completely immune to criticism because of the roster disaster he inherited. There’s plenty of weight there, sure, but Auburn has also taken several steps backwards in competency this season on offense, where Freeze is supposed to be a dynamic coach and play caller.
I don’t think there’s buyers’ remorse on the whole. Freeze can recruit with the best of them, and Auburn’s freshman talent and 2025 commitments are the most encouraging parts of the program right now. If Freeze can make some fixes offensively and finally find a quality quarterback, this team looks pretty well rounded for success in 2025. But again, a lot of the fan criticism has come down to the in-between moments for Freeze. He can recruit, sure. But he made a lot of decisions this offseason to take more control of the offense, bring in more of his coaches, retain a middling quarterback, etc. None of those decisions have yielded wins.
GBH: It seems like Auburn has somewhat gotten the turnover issues under control in recent weeks. Is that mostly due to improved play from Payton Thorne, or are these other elements at work?
NK: The nine combined interceptions against Cal and Arkansas weighed heavily on this team early in the year — then Thorne went out and threw a game-losing interception against Oklahoma in Week 5. As you noted, things have reverted to the mean since then. Auburn is still No. 118 nationally in turnovers lost, but they haven’t had multiple giveaways in a game since mid-Septmeber.
Thorne has done a better job taking care of the football — though it’s worth noting three of those early season interceptions came from backup Hank Brown, and two more were off an open receiver’s hands.
Turnovers will be a prevailing memory for this 2024 team for a long time, but it’s been more about the general dysfunction of this offense in critical situations. The Tigers lack execution near the red zone, commit costly penalties and struggle to consistently put their best players in position to succeed. There are quality skill players, but it’s a group that has accomplished a lot less than the sum of its parts.
GBH: What is the biggest strength and biggest weakness for the Tigers on each side of the ball?
NK: It’s tough not to go with the running game for Auburn on offense, as Jarquez Hunter has surpassed 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He owns the best single-game rushing performance of the 2024 season when he went for 278 at Kentucky, and the Tigers are always more dynamic and efficient offensively when he’s rolling. I don’t see much of a chance for Auburn to win this game against Texas A&M — despite some nice receiving talent — if Hunter isn’t offsetting the Aggies’ ravenous defensive front.
I’d say this is a pretty well-balanced defense on all three levels. DJ Durkin has been a revelation leading this unit, and the Tigers are paced by a youth movement of true-freshman contributors. I’ll highlight cornerback and the outside linebacker/edge positions as being the most dynamic on defense. Jay Crawford and Kayin Lee are a strong coverage duo, while players like linebacker Demarcus Riddick, pass-rusher Jalen McLeod and defensive end Keldric Faulk have been some of Auburn’s best players on a consistent basis. This group can stop the run well, too, even without any high-impact defensive tackles.
GBH: Who are the biggest impact players for the Tigers that A&M fans should familiarize themselves with?
NK: I mentioned those five players on defense, and it’s worth noting Crawford and Riddick are true freshmen. Crawford has some of the best pure coverage stats in the league, and Riddick is an ultra-athletic linebacker who can hawk down quarterbacks in space. Faulk is probably the best NFL draft prospect on this entire team as a sophomore, and he’s tied for No. 19 in college football with 36 QB pressures on the season.
We already touched on Hunter’s importance as the lead ball-carrier, but Auburn has some weapons out wide for what feels like the first time in ages. Texas A&M fans know of Penn State transfer receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who’s tied for the SEC lead in touchdowns and is a consistent, experienced player. Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons are two high-ceiling freshmen who have already flashed immense potential. When they’re clicking, Auburn is a much, much better offense. Obviously much of that depends on the type of game Thorne is having and his protection, both of which have been inconsistent this season.
GBH: Despite Kyle Field and Jordan Hare being among the best home field advantages in college football, this is a series that has been dominated by the road team (both teams are 4-2 against each other on the road since 2012). Any rhyme or reason you can ascribe to that?
NK: That’s always been an intriguing aspect to this divisional rivalry — oops, nevermind. There’s been some bizarre outcomes in this series of late. I think back to a bad Auburn team beating Kyler Murray and a ranked Aggies squad on the road in 2015. Auburn also went on the road and beat Texas A&M with a freshman Bo Nix at quarterback in the 2019 SEC opener. And the Aggies have the 2012 blitzkrieg in Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Kyle Allen’s win as a freshman QB in 2014.
As you mentioned, Jordan-Hare and Kyle Field have so much potential as high-end SEC football venues. When it’s a big game, I’d want to be one of those two places over most other stadiums in the country. And just like the 2022 Texas A&M matchup, this figures to be a big atmosphere for Auburn, with nothing to lose, looking to exercise some frustrations with a ranked win in an otherwise disappointing season.
GBH: Tell how you see this game playing out, and if you’re open to it, give us a score prediction.
NK: Defensively, I think there are plenty of reasons to believe Auburn can keep this one competitive — like the Tigers have against every opponent this season, save for a road game against Georgia. Marcel Reed is as explosive a runner as they come at QB, and the Tigers said he’s going to be the “biggest challenge” of the entire season at that position. Auburn’s blend of excellent game-planning and developing freshman talent have done a nice job containing the quarterback running game this season, however. Reed and Amari Daniels may rack up some yardage, but I think Auburn has the personnel and approach to keep things from getting out of hand.
Obviously, the big question marks come for Auburn on the offensive side of the ball. Auburn has the potential to crack open some big plays against quality defenses; it’s done so several times this season. And if Hunter can find a groove, the Tigers are hard to stop. But Texas A&M’s havoc rate as a defensive front has been stellar, and its run defense is pretty solid, too. That aspect of this matchup doesn’t inspire confidence that Auburn will pull out its first ranked win in three years.