"Nick Saban is incredible – but I should have four wins against them": SEC coach is unsatisfied over his record against Alabama despite two victories
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is unsatisfied with his record against retired Alabama coach Nick Saban. Despite officially recording two victories during his time at Ole Miss, Freeze said he should have four wins.
He cited a controversial call during a 2016 game, where a potential game-tying touchdown by Ole Miss was overturned, as the reason he missed out on a third win. In that game, Alabama managed to rally from a three-touchdown deficit to win 48-43.
Speaking on ESPN's SEC Network show, Marty & McGee, Freeze said:
“Nick is incredible – but I should have four wins against them,” Hugh Freeze said [H/t On3]. “We beat them twice and we had them 24-3 the third year, and I wasn’t smart enough to slow it down.
“And then last year it easily could’ve gone our way. … We easily could’ve beat him a few more times.”
Freeze, who took over at Auburn before the 2023 season, looked back on Auburn's close defeat to Alabama last year. Despite leading for most of the second half, Auburn fell to a late touchdown on a fourth-and-31 play.
“Not winning that game sucked. It stunk. It was disappointing, hard,” Freeze said. “But at the same time, I didn’t think our roster was as good as theirs.”
While the defeat was painful, it also bolstered his belief that Auburn could quickly reclaim its spot among the nation's elite programs. Freeze felt that Auburn's performance, which nearly secured a win, proved they could compete at the highest level.
Hugh Freeze laments painful defeat yet lauds Nick Saban as a friend
The sting of the loss to Alabama and Nick Saban left Auburn coach Hugh Freeze with a lot of frustration, but he considers legendary Saban a friend, as he pointed out:
“At Ole Miss, I think we were one of the first staffs to bring in the tempo/RPO world, and he didn’t like that at all and tried to get it changed and all that,” Freeze said.
“Then he started doing it. And he’s a good friend of mine, for sure. But I did understand what complicated their calls.”
Despite Freeze's confidence, Nick Saban retired with a strong 12-5 record against Auburn Tigers, including wins in his last four matchups.
Also Read: Hugh Freeze at SEC Media Days 2024: 3 interesting things Auburn HC said at Dallas event