Freeze vents after Arkansas defeat: 'Hard to take'

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze made it clear that the Tigers lost to a lesser team when they fell 24-14 to Arkansas on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Speaking Monday night on Tiger Talk with the Auburn Sports Network, Freeze said Auburn’s latest home loss, much like the Sept. 7 defeat to Cal, was especially frustrating because of the quality of the opposition.

“I mean no offense whatsoever to Arkansas … I love [coach] Sam Pittman, I hope he wins the rest of his games, but I’m telling you, the hard truth is if we play them nine more times, we beat them nine times,” Freeze said Monday. “That’s what’s hard to take, and it’s hard for our fans, I’m sure, and it’s certainly hard for us.”

Freeze cited Auburn’s five turnovers in the loss, which limited the Tigers to 61 plays. Auburn outgained Arkansas 431-334, but the Razorbacks ran 22 more plays and scored 10 points off of turnovers.

The second-year Auburn coach had a similar message earlier Monday at his news conference, saying, “Certainly not lessening Arkansas, congratulations to Coach Pittman. … But certainly it was a game we felt like was winnable. And when you don’t come through and get that, it stinks.”

Auburn also had five turnovers in its home loss to Cal. Freeze said Auburn’s offensive identity doesn’t need to change, and said it’s “sickening” that the team is averaging 8 yards per play but “not scoring the points that should come with what those stats say.”

He said Auburn would evaluate quarterbacks Payton Thorne and Hank Brown throughout the week before deciding who starts against Oklahoma. Freeze said Thorne, who replaced Brown in the second half against Arkansas, “looked really sharp.”