Auburn football: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss at Texas A&M

3. Still a long way to go on the plains

The optimism surrounding this team after three weeks may have been a bit premature. Auburn looked solid against UMass and Samford, and they got a road win against Cal in an unconventional spot, but Saturday’s performance put the proper context around this program’s current position.

Freeze was never going to turn this team around overnight. It’s worth remembering that Bryan Harsin, arguably the worst recruiter to ever coach the Tigers, left this program in a dreadful spot. Under his watch, morale reached an all-time low on the plains.

Harsin was also the only Auburn coach in a long time to just, flat-out, never win. Terry Bowden, Tommy Tuberville, Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn all won significantly. They had their struggles, but all of them were capable of taking this program to great heights as well. That’s another example of just how dark the Harsin era was.

Freeze won at Ole Miss. He beat Alabama in back-to-back seasons and recruited some of the best players in the conference.

This is likely going to be a tough season, because the rebuild needed on the plains is so comprehensive. The Tigers will be back to their chaotic, wild card ways in a matter of time. It’s just going to be a while.