Auburn Football Gaining Confidence, Momentum Nearing Iron Bowl Clash With Alabama

The wins weren't expected to come this season for Auburn and Hugh Freeze.

The Tigers (6-4, 3-5 SEC) had a rough start to their conference slate, dropping their first four games to Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss. Since then, they've rattled off three victories in a row (albeit against worse competition) and are fresh off of a 48-10 smattering at Arkansas.

The wins weren't expected. But the improvement from 2022 was. Now, as the schedule has lightened up, Auburn has begun to form an identity. Hugh Freeze believes many things have helped the Tigers play better, but he continues to harp on the feeling surrounding his team as the season draws to a close.

Confidence. The team is finally playing with confidence.

"It's really good to see our kids play with confidence," Freeze said in his Monday morning press conference. "I don't think you can be very good at anything if you don't have confidence in what you're doing. They seem to be a confident group that's excited for another opportunity."

It can't go without mentioning that Auburn's last three opponents are a combined 2-19 in SEC play this season. Mississippi State just fired Zach Arnett, who was just 10 games into his head coaching career. Arkansas may be on the verge of firing Sam Pittman, who after a 9-4 campaign with the Hogs in 2021 has progressively gotten worse. The loss to Auburn sank the Razorbacks to 3-7, making them ineligible for a bowl. Vanderbilt is Vanderbilt.

The Tigers aren't world-beaters. At least, not yet.

Momentum is something fans of the program have been dying to see for years. Auburn hasn't been relevant since 2019... Bo Nix's freshman season of college football. Recruiting took a nosedive from 2020 to 2022, and with it the Tigers' product on the field began to suffer. Bryan Harsin's two years attempting to coach didn't help the cause.

Now recruiting is starting to trend back up. If Auburn can close out 2023 with seven or eight wins - their most since that '19 season - alongside a developing 2024 class, there will be legitimate hope that the Tigers can return to form in a new SEC.

The momentum is back. Making sure it stays is a daily challenge for Freeze and his staff.

"When you win some games, I think that's cause for momentum," Freeze said. "The job and the chore is to continue that, if we stump our toe this week it's easy to say the momentum has shifted the other way [...] Momentum is an everyday thing. I believe in life you're either winning or learning, and that's a choice."

Another choice the Tigers' will have to make is how they approach this final non-conference game. New Mexico State is not only bowl eligible, but has also clinched a spot in their conference title game. The team is no slouch.

And yet, most already have their eyes on Auburn's final game of the season.

Auburn could roll into the Iron Bowl at 7-4, at home, against a Crimson Tide squad having already won the SEC West.

We've seen this narrative before. We've seen Auburn come close in a more difficult situation.

How does the team not look ahead?

"It's going to test our maturity, we will talk about that in our team meeting," Freeze said about not focusing on Alabama. "We won't talk about the other team that you mentioned, we will talk about the one we have right in front of us that can sting us, I've experienced that before. We need to continue getting better... and so that will be the challenge and the message."

Recruiting pages to bookmark

2024 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

2025 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

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