Goodman: Can Auburn football climb out of the abyss?

Consider this: At the peak of its powers, Ole Miss can’t even beat Kentucky at home. Yes, Kiffin would definitely head to Florida if he had the chance. As for Napier going to Auburn, that’s not happening unless he becomes an assistant to Freeze next season.

I’m no science geek, but things that are at the bottom of the abyss may have a better chance of getting to the surface than any of us ever seeing the dark side of the moon. The Mailbag welcomes any rock & roll references, so we’ll try to answer the question with some of our own. As Auburn “learns to fly,” it is important to note that “money” will be required to repair every “brick in the wall.”

I continue to have faith in Auburn’s freeze despite all the evidence to the contrary on the scoreboard at the end of games. Auburn isn’t as far away as it seems. There was a point early in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma where I thought I was going to write a column about Auburn playing its best football in years. Then OU scored 17 straight points. Welp. What happened?

First, Auburn must capitalize on its scoring opportunities. The Tigers left a lot of points on the field in the first half, and in the end the Tigers had problems again. There is no easy or overnight fix at Auburn, but Freeze is making progress. Given his recruiting abilities, Auburn is still moving in the right direction despite the string of consecutive losses to Power 4 teams. We’re up to five in a row since last season, but who’s really counting at this point?

Maybe Auburn would be better off if it had hired Kiffin. Auburn fans have been critical of this opinion in the past, but I continue to believe that Coach Prime would have been the best hire. However, that doesn’t mean Freeze is a bad trainer. I’ve been working behind the scenes at Auburn and will publish a column on Wednesday explaining why Freeze is on the path to redemption on the Plains.

Matt in Dothan writes…

Hugh recruits a stallion, Walker White, and refuses to play against him? I would understand if this was 10 or 20 years ago, but with the transfer portal, the Freeze Five probably won’t be around next year after these performances, and saving a quarterback as a redshirt doesn’t seem to have any benefit. Why not try to right the ship by playing the newbie?

ANSWER: We love Monday morning quarterbacking, and Matt nails it. There were a lot of people who thought Freeze should have played with quarterback White from the start of the season and simply used this season as a teaching moment for 2025. However, let me just say this. If Freeze hits the reset button with White, it doesn’t have to be the week of the Georgia game.

Auburn started as a 24-point underdog in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry. The last thing Auburn needs is for White to get injured against the Bulldogs. At this point, all of these young receivers might actually be thinking about leaving.

Freeze has a plan for White, who was preparing as a high school student at a small school in Arkansas. If Freeze doesn’t believe White is ready, we have to trust that Auburn’s coach still knows a thing or two about football. Freeze was already trying to use backup Hank Brown, and Brown threw three interceptions in the first half against Arkansas.

Thorne did enough to keep the job against OU, and I can’t imagine Freeze making any more changes at the position until later in the season. If Auburn makes a bowl game – and that’s a long way off at this point – then perhaps White will make his debut in that game. Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava played in the Vols’ bowl game last season, and that experience helped prepare him for his breakout run as a redshirt freshman. White appears to have a similar schedule.

Rasta in LA writes… (Note: Rasta is a dog from the strange geographical vortex called “Lower Alabama”)

Apparently the Sooners were waiting for the interception that would win the game (I think they didn’t want to bench Thorne too early in the game). My human is going to start a new drinking game during the Auburn games… Everyone has to give it a try when they hear “misunderstanding” after a bad pass from Thorne. Poor clock management at the end of the first half, missed field goals and silly quarterback changes on the goal line left 13 points on the field. But with the game in hand and all you have to do is shove the ball down their throats, do you throw three bad passes?

When we head to Dawg Town next week, we’ll see if the UGA quarterback looks more like Thorne or a Lamborghini owner. If he loses to us next week, he’ll trade it for a Prius.

One of my favorite poets, Mr. James T. Buffett (RIP), has released an album (“A1A”) that contains a very relevant tune: “Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season.” My doghouse avoided this last time, but our thoughts are with those who didn’t make it. Keep the faith, dear tigers!!! WDE!!!

ANSWER: Above all, we are happy that Rasta is safe and sound after Hurricane Helene. Our thoughts are with everyone who stood in the path of the storm as it moved toward North Carolina and Virginia.

It’s a dangerous game that combines brown water shots with Auburn turnovers. Five weeks into the season, Auburn ranks second-to-last nationally in this category. Thorne’s moment of truth ended with a pick-six against Oklahoma, and it’s as if the Sooners knew what was coming. There’s a lot of blame to go around.

Jeff west of Montgomery writes…

At Auburn, your constant negativity towards my school is abhorrent. How on earth is Auburn going to rebuild given the constant “growing darkness” articles damaging recruiting in the media? AU always has a higher mountain to climb in this state. I will always do that.

ANSWER: I’ve been more than fair with Freeze over the last two years. While I have been critical, I continue to write that things are not as bad as they seem. Maybe try reading beyond the headlines. As for the hills, I would say Auburn is about halfway up the slope at this point in the trip. I think we can both agree that firing Freeze would do more harm than good. However, he will continue to be held accountable after the games.

Rusty in Rankin County, Miss., writes…

Coach Saban was right a few years ago when he said that it makes a difference between winning a game and beating an opponent. If Auburn had won the last three games, they would have simply won some games but not actually defeated their opponents, even though they would be 5-0 and likely locked in a bowl game.

If Auburn wants to make significant football gains for years and be a playoff contender, it will take time and fans will have to stop the incessant insults to players and coaches. It saps energy and concentration.

ANSWER: Wise words from Rankin County, Mississippi. Maybe I’m crazy, but I think Freeze is making progress at Auburn despite entering SEC play 0-2 in his second season here. Ultimately it’s about setting up the team for 2025. Freeze could have cooked the chicken in the microwave, but he has the bird on the smoker.

A strong performance against Georgia will tell us a lot about Freeze’s ability to keep this team focused and motivated. The Tigers don’t need to win, but Georgia needs to know that Auburn is rising from deep.

MAILBAG

Do you have a question for Joe? Do you want to get rid of something? Email Joe with what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him something.

Joseph Goodman is the leading sports columnist for Alabama Media Group and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”