{"id":988006,"date":"2023-09-05T10:28:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T16:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/?p=988006"},"modified":"2023-09-06T11:29:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T17:29:34","slug":"the-auburn-corner-freeze-passes-first-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/the-auburn-corner-freeze-passes-first-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The Auburn Corner: Freeze Passes First Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Photo via Zach Bland\/Auburn Tigers)<\/p>\n<div class=\"single-container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"cm-col-lg-8 cm-col-12 sticky_portion\">\n<div class=\"theiaStickySidebar\">\n<div class=\"content-entry\">\n<article id=\"post-986427\" class=\"post-detail post-986427 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-tigers-plains-war-eagle category-auburn category-featured-news category-sec tag-auburn-football tag-auburn-tigers tag-hugh-freeze tag-michael-brauner tag-payton-thorne tag-robby-ashford tag-the-auburn-corner\">\n<div class=\"the_content\">\n<p>Every Tuesday right here you can read <em>The Auburn Corner<\/em>, where we\u2019ll get into a different topic on the Auburn Tigers, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between. In this week\u2019s edition, Auburn got the Freeze era started off right, Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford both looked good, and the Tigers head out West this week for a challenge against California:<\/p>\n<p>The Tigers handled business as they were supposed to in their season opener, taking down UMASS by a score of 59-14. Nobody expected a competitive game, and despite an early 89-yard touchdown drive for the Minutemen to tie the game at 7, Auburn did what they were supposed to do.<\/p>\n<p>Run defense has been an issue for the Tigers, and they must improve as conference play approaches if they hope to compete in the SEC this season. After being gashed on the long touchdown drive, however, the Tigers did not give up another score until garbage time in the 4th quarter.<\/p>\n<p>While you can&#8217;t read a ton from beating UMASS, the reconstructed offensive line looked good and Auburn ran the ball very well (289 yards as a team) despite missing star running back Jarquez Hunter, whose absence still remains a mystery. Sean Jackson, Jeremiah Cobb, Damari Alston, and Brian Battie led a Tigers running back room by committee which was very effective on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most interesting thing from the game was the way Hugh Freeze deployed Robby Ashford. Ashford finished off three touchdown drives for the Tigers after Payton Thorne got them into the red zone, rushing 9 times for 51 yards and three scores. Was this Freeze simply being experimental in game one, or a real glimpse into how the Tigers will run their offense in 2023?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3\ufe0f\u20e3 tuddy guy.<\/p>\n<p>That man <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/robby_ashford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@robby_ashford<\/a> is cookin&#39; \ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LN6UhpowG1\">https:\/\/t.co\/LN6UhpowG1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hFLg20J2jA\">pic.twitter.com\/hFLg20J2jA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AuburnFootball\/status\/1698077409235599730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I thought Payton Thorne was impressive in the 17 throws he did make. He completed 10 of his passes for 141 yards and a touchdown and made a few throws that displayed first-hand why Freeze brought him in from Michigan State.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Payton Thorne with the long ball<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2iUtYaI5Tg\">pic.twitter.com\/2iUtYaI5Tg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AUGoldMine\/status\/1698075505226826185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Payton Thorne to Jay Fair<\/p>\n<p>The Passing Game<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/owc9IZSGhk\">pic.twitter.com\/owc9IZSGhk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AUGoldMine\/status\/1698089785456197637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Awesome pitch &amp; catch by Payton Thorne and Shane Hooks <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/wde?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wde<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qOFnK3cx2Q\">pic.twitter.com\/qOFnK3cx2Q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PwrofDixieland\/status\/1698073259906895980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now, Auburn turns its focus to California. The Tigers are favored on the road by 6.5 points in a game that will not kick off until 9:30 pm central time. Cal is coming off a 4-8 season, but just defeated North Texas 58-21 in their opener and this game could be closer than many anticipated during the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>On paper, Auburn has significantly more talent and should be able to handle the Golden Bears with relative ease. But in an early season road game where the Tigers are still trying to figure out their offense, California could certainly give them some trouble. It&#8217;s a game Auburn must win before a gauntlet of an SEC schedule begins in two weeks, but it will not be a cake walk.<\/p>\n<p>California rushed for over 350 yards in week one and will attempt to run the ball all night against Auburn. Time will tell if Hugh Freeze&#8217;s defense is up to the task.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>(Photo via Zach Bland\/Auburn Tigers) Every Tuesday right here you can read The Auburn Corner, where we\u2019ll get into a different topic on the Auburn <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/the-auburn-corner-freeze-passes-first-test\/\" title=\"The Auburn Corner: Freeze Passes First Test\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4874,"featured_media":988228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,145,147,33],"tags":[76,278,755,939,572,1023],"class_list":{"0":"post-988006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tigers-plains-war-eagle","8":"category-auburn","9":"category-featured-news","10":"category-sec","11":"tag-auburn-football","12":"tag-auburn-tigers","13":"tag-hugh-freeze","14":"tag-payton-thorne","15":"tag-robby-ashford","16":"tag-the-auburn-corner"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Untitled-design-7.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988006"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":988258,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988006\/revisions\/988258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/988228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=988006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wnsp.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=988006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}