Every Tuesday we present “The Auburn Corner,” where we’ll get into a different topic on the Auburn Tigers, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.
The Auburn Tigers are coming off their biggest win of the Hugh Freeze era. Now, they’re heading into Tuscaloosa for the gargantuan task of becoming the first Auburn team since the Cam Newton led bunch had a miraculous second half comeback in 2010.
They get the chance to do it with more momentum than they have had in a long time and against an Alabama team that is coming off an absolute beatdown at the hands of an inferior team. With the Tide now at three losses and likely eliminated from the playoff picture, that can be looked at in one of two ways.
Either Alabama is dejected and down and uninterested in performing their best making them vulnerable, or as the Tigers have done so many times over the years are looking at this game as a one-game season where they will leave it all on the line.
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No matter what the Crimson Tide’s mindset is going into the matchup, this is the greatest opportunity Hugh Freeze has had in his Auburn career.
For one, the team has a chance to salvage a season that looked like an absolute disaster for large portions of it, get to six wins, and secure bowl eligibility.
But more critically than that, Freeze has a chance to get his shot at Auburn history and ultimately a forgiveness for everything that has gone wrong over the last two years, not to mention a steamroller’s worth of momentum heading into 2025.
Losses to New Mexico State, California, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt all get erased in the minds of Tigers fans if Freeze can go into Tuscaloosa and come away with a victory. It would be a vindication that while the process has been difficult, it is working and moving in the right direction.
Freeze knows the opportunity that lies in front of him and his team. Win or lose, you can count on Auburn coming out with their hair on fire on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
