After another dismal game from Auburn’s offense, where does the blame go now?

Auburn’s inability to remain consistent this season may be attributed to the offensive coaches’ conference room, which has given the impression of being a brain trust with disparate goals and methods for achieving them.

 

Following a disappointing 31-13 defeat to Maryland in the Music City Bowl to conclude a 6-7 campaign, the blame lies with head coach Hugh Freeze’s patchy participation. Before the 2023 season, Freeze handed offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery the primary play-

calling responsibility, which led to the offense’s severe troubles. Seven games

into the season, following Auburn’s October loss to Ole Miss, Freeze says he

“put his foot down” and became more involved in offensive strategy. That

seems to be the situation. acknowledged for a turnaround that occurred during

Auburn’s final-season three-game SEC winning run.

Freeze commented at points this season on how the coaches he hired would allow

him to focus on recruiting. But he had to step back on that plan to help with the

offense. During the regular season when Freeze was asked about the well-done

job of defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, Freeze said he likes to step out

of his assistant’s way until they prove they can’t do the job. At that point in the

year, Freeze had already stated how he’d stepped in more with the offense.

 

The history made Freeze’s comments about what he described as a poor

offensive game plan against Maryland, especially fascinating.

 

“Well, obviously I don’t feel like it was an effective one,” Freeze said after the Music City Bowl loss. “I didn’t get too

involved in it for most of the part until this week because of recruiting, and

really wanted to kind of evaluate everything about our program.”

 

Based on Freeze’s comments throughout the season, it would be fair to assume the

offense was good when Freeze was heavily involved in preparation, and bad

when he wasn’t. Whether that’s the full story is unclear.

“I think honestly he’s always been a part of it,” Montgomery said Friday before the Music City Bowl. “We went into this with that mindset. He’s always had influence on it from fall camp to now and will continue to do that. We went into this with our eyes wide open with the honest approach of trying to put the best thing on the field for our players and giving them the best opportunity to go win.”

 

Freeze was willing to take blame on himself after the loss, saying the criticism should start with him as the head coach. But statements that he wasn’t heavily involved with the plan until after the Dec. 20-22 early signing period and then saying it was not a good plan instead is passing blame around the staff.

 

The main complaint Freeze had centered on not running the ball well. Auburn only had 76 rushing yards and averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Freeze’s blame there went not to the players’ execution but more to the schemes Auburn used.

“We have to go look at the run schemes that we had, and did we not play hard up front,” Freeze said. “It’s really hard for me to tell. But they really dominated the line of scrimmage against us. They did load the box now.”

 

That inability to run the ball plus a three-score deficit in the game’s first quarter meant Auburn essentially had to rely on its passing game — which has been among the 10 worst in the nation this season by yards per game. Both Payton Thorne and Holden Geriner struggled mightily. Thorne completed only 13 passes out of 27 for 84 yards. Geriner only completed one pass. Third-string quarterback Hank Brown was the only productive passer.

One could point the issue at the offensive line’s inadequate blocking. It might proceed with the plans Freeze indicated. Thorne’s poor quarterback performance may continue to be the reason Freeze retracted his earlier endorsement of his starting quarterback. It might apply to a group of pass catchers who haven’t been able to establish a lead or make a significant impact in any way during the 2023 campaign.

 

The team’s inconsistency is being blamed for more and more things, which makes Auburn emphasize problems it thought it had resolved.

In 2024, Freeze will be evaluating players primarily at the quarterback position, where he may face competition he hadn’t anticipated. Additionally, it might be a reflection on an offensive staff that Freeze has indicated on several occasions—including this past Saturday—did not do the necessary tasks. or, at minimum, not in his manner.

 

According to Freeze, “I’m always evaluating players, staff, everything. If we find that my assessment was incorrect, then we need to shift course and reevaluate to improve,” he stated. “In spring practice, that position should be very interesting.”