Hugh Freeze makes a big change in Week 3 after offensive disaster – class against Cal

Granted, Hugh Freeze had to do something. After watching Payton Thorne’s absolutely abysmal four-interception performance against Justin Wilcox’s California Golden Bears, Freeze had to make a change at starting quarterback. Thorne will be riding the pines for the Auburn Tigers on Saturday against Bronco Mendenhall’s rising New Mexico Lobos, as redshirt freshman Hank Brown will get the start.

This was a season where Auburn expected to make the jump under Freeze. The Tigers may still be able to do that, but losing a game in non-conference play to a team that had to travel across the country to play you is incredibly concerning. I think it shows how well Cal has been coached under Wilcox. And why didn’t Freeze try to get a better quarterback in the esports portal?

You can tell from the tone of this quote that Freeze was deeply disappointed with Thorne’s terrible play.

“We have a very, very short window of time to play as poorly as we did at certain points in that game in that position,” Freeze said, courtesy of ESPN.

Freeze made the change midweek ahead of the game against New Mexico. Auburn may have a full season ahead of it, but it’s hard to imagine the Tigers still sitting at 8-4 with a brutal home loss to Cal. The Golden Bears may be strong on defense, but they don’t stand a chance in most SEC games when their starting quarterback is as sloppy with the ball as Thorne was last week.

Brown is not yet fully proven, but after the Tigers disaster on The Plains a change was necessary.

This has to be frustrating for War Eagle Nation, because Freeze was hired amid controversy to be a team that would strike fear into Auburn’s biggest rivals. Now, in the early stages of his second year on the Plains, does Auburn strike fear into the hearts of Alabama, Georgia, and LSU fans? Not at all, and that’s a big deal… This is a die-hard college football fan, so why not get a better quarterback?

There are a few teams that fall into the same category as Auburn, most notably Michigan. As the offseason progressed, I kept wondering why Power Four teams like Auburn and Michigan weren’t actively looking to draft Dequan Finn, Jordan McCloud, or Dante Moore in the portal. One plays for a bad Baylor team. Another is shining at Texas State. The third is Dillon Gabriel’s known backup at Oregon.

Freeze may be putting too much faith in Thorne. Brown could be a revelation for the Tigers, but you have to feel like Auburn is going to come up short in most quarterback games they’re in for the rest of the season. Football is a team sport, but subpar quarterback play is a great way to lose winnable games. Look no further than last week’s home disaster against Cal.

I still have faith that Freeze will make Auburn a threat, but that day may not come until 2025…