“I'm sure its mental illness”: CFB fans react as Auburn HC Hugh Freeze gears up to coach from the hospital bed in Week 9
Auburn Tigers coach Hugh Freeze spent Friday night in a hospital after experiencing "severe nausea" in what is believed to be caused by food poisoning. However, Freeze is still expected to coach Auburn's game on Saturday night against the Kentucky Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. ET and will fly out to Lexington in the afternoon.
Freeze confirmed to ESPN's Chris Low that he will be on the sidelines.
Freeze is not just going viral for his hospitalization, but also for what he was wearing. He sported a coaching shirt and visor, which is exactly what he would wear on the sideline minus the Auburn logo.
Fans took to X to react to the news.
"Hugh Freeze sideline vomiting shot," one fan said.
"REPORT: Hugh Freeze’s tummy hurts but he’s being very brave about it," another fan wrote.
Hugh Freeze once coached while in a hospital bed
This is not the first time that Freeze has had to attend to football duties under strange circumstances. In 2019, his former team, the Liberty Flames, were set to face the Syracuse Orange to open their campaign. Freeze was sick and was unable to attend the game on the sideline, but he still coached from a hospital bed in the press box of Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Syracuse dominated the Flames and won 24-0.
What's in store for Auburn for the remainder of the season
Even under healthy circumstances, Freeze and the Tigers have not had much success this season. Auburn (2-5, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) is on a four-game losing streak to SEC foes Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri.
The remaining games won't be easier for the Tigers. Freeze will have to lead his struggling team against three more AP Top 25 teams: No. 25-ranked Vanderbilt, No. 14-ranked Texas A&M and No. 15-ranked Alabama.
Senior quarterback Payton Thorne continues to struggle and is coming off a 176 passing-yard performance against Missouri. Both his job security and Freeze's have been topics of conversation among Auburn fans and analysts.
Heading into the Week 9 matchup, Kentucky is favored by exactly one point against the Tigers.