Auburn Tigers head football coach Hugh Freeze reflected on the 4th-and-31 play, but emphasized that Nick Saban is “incredible” and a “good friend.”
Over the past 17 years, many head coaches have eagerly anticipated facing Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. However, with Saban having only 29 total losses in nearly two decades at Tuscaloosa, Ala., only a small fraction of those coaches have been able to secure what is often their “biggest game of the year.”
Hugh Freeze, the former Ole Miss head coach and current Auburn coach, is one of only five head coaches to have beaten the seven-time national champion (six of those titles coming at Alabama) twice. Despite his four losses against Saban, Freeze recently told SEC Network’s Marty Smith that he believes he should have claimed a few more victories.
“Nick is incredible, but I should have four wins against him,” Freeze said. “We beat him twice, and we had them 24-3 in the third year, but I wasn’t smart enough to slow it down. And last year, it could have easily gone our way. I may not have phrased that right, but we easily could have beaten him a few more times.”
On November 25, 2023, the game Freeze was referring to, Auburn had led 24-20 for much of the fourth quarter, but a muffed punt gave Alabama the ball back. The Crimson Tide advanced to first-and-goal, but a bad snap pushed them back. Then, on fourth down from the 31-yard line, quarterback Jalen Milroe connected with wide receiver Isaiah Bond for a touchdown, putting Alabama up 27-24 with 32 seconds left, ultimately securing the win.
“Not winning that game was tough. It stunk. It was disappointing and hard, but I also knew our roster wasn’t as strong as theirs,” Freeze said. “It gave me even more confidence that Auburn can quickly return to being one of the top programs in the country because we went toe-to-toe with them and should’ve won the game, honestly. It was a mix of feeling awful, but also realizing we can compete with them.”
Although Freeze has a losing record against Saban, Marty Smith praised him for “always giving Saban hell” whenever they faced off. Freeze shared the key to his success in challenging Saban but acknowledged that Saban has adapted to his strategies.
“At Ole Miss, we were one of the first teams to bring in the tempo RPO (run-pass option) game, and he didn’t like that at all and tried to get it changed,” Freeze said. “Then he started doing it himself. He’s a good friend of mine, but I understood what made their calls complicated.”
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