Hugh Freeze in the trenches once again: Can Auburn avoid a losing record?

At the halfway point of Auburn's 2024 season, the Tigers are just 2-4. Despite high expectations for a team that should have improved mightily, year two of the Hugh Freeze era has been downright disappointing.

The scary part for the Tigers is that the second half of the season is without a doubt the tougher half. It starts with a trip to Missouri on Saturday and continues with a trip to Kentucky the following week. It's hard to expect this team to win both games, but they could come back to Jordan-Hare with a split that puts their record at 3-5. The nightmare scenario, but still a strong possibility, is that they have already lost six games by the time they come home.

The Vanderbilt game that follows is not a guaranteed win. The Commodores upset Alabama earlier in the season, and Diego Pavia was the quarterback of the New Mexico State team that beat Auburn a year ago.

The only real reprieve left on Auburn's schedule is a home date with Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 16th.

After that, it's a home date with Texas A&M. The Aggies have looked beatable at times and dominant at others. If the A&M that looked vulnerable against Notre Dame and Arkansas shows up, Auburn has a real shot here. If the A&M that beat up on Missouri and Florida is the one we see, the Tigers are likely to be undone by a few Payton Thorne picks.

Obviously, Auburn's season ends with Alabama, and this year the Iron Bowl is in Tuscaloosa. In recent history, the Tigers have only played the Tide tight on the road with the likes of Cam Newton and Nick Marshall. Every time an underperforming Auburn team has taken the Tide into deep water, it's been at Jordan-Hare.

On the Tigers' remaining schedule, the one sure victory is against ULM. Missouri, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt are toss-up games. Auburn will be significant underdogs against Alabama and A&M. Heading into that slate, at 2-4, looks grim on the plains.

After attaining bowl eligibility in Freeze's first season, regression is becoming more and more realistic in 2024.

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