Auburn beat Mississippi State 27-13 on Military Appreciation Day. Here are a few things Coach Hugh Freeze said to the media following the win.
Opening Statement…
Obviously, it was a great day winning our first SEC game here at home in Jordan-Hare (Stadium) and on Military Appreciation Day. Always good to honor our military and what they do for our country and our families. Just really excited for our kids and our staff. We saw some signs today of us getting better at some things and it’s just really exciting to see. It’s not easy to win in this league and this was a big win for us with the remaining stretch that we have. We are going on the road the next two weeks. This was kind of, you never want to say it because you don’t want to make too much of one game, but it had the feeling for me as a critical game. I thought our kids and staff responded very well this week and it showed that we’re playing really good in the first half. They’re (Mississippi State) really good on defense – how they stop people running the ball and I think their kids play extremely hard also.
On Payton Thorne…
I told him this week, ‘it’s time to put up a ‘shut up’ and ‘figure out,’ who can run the things we want to run. Both (QBs) showed signs this week in practice of improvement. We started hot and felt good about our plan. We had a little plan for Robby (Ashford), too. We just never really got to it. Payton running was really good to see. I think he was 20-for-26 or something. Such a solid day and he took care of the ball well. We did some not so good things in the second half, some of it was them (Mississippi State). They really made an adjustment at halftime and how they were planning to get across. They made it hard to run the ball, and of course, you’re trying to move the clock a little bit when you’re up two-to-three scores. We’ll get a critical first down and have linemen downfield. We can’t do that and that’s frustrating to see those things, but excited for Payton to have a solid day.
Now watch the rest here:
As an added bonus, here are a few quotes from the players…
Zion Puckett, S
On prepping for MSU not knowing who their starting QB would be…
Yeah, it was pretty tough because throughout the week it was undecided who was going to play, either #14 (Mike Wright) or #2 (Will Rogers). Just being able to prepare for those two quarterbacks, that was pretty difficult. But I think we did pretty good.
On fourth-down stop late in the first half…
That was a big one. Definitely kudos to my defense for having everyone be locked in. Just emphasizing third and fourth down is what we did all week.
Payton Thorne, QB
On importance of getting into a rhythm…
I thought it was very important. Coach emphasized it all week, and I thought our guys did a good job of getting the ball back to the ref, letting them spot it, and then rolling again. The O-line did a good job of picking up whatever they were bringing too. I thought that was a big part of what we were doing.
On confidence of connecting big early…
It helps for sure. When you connect down the field early on, you feel good about it. And even just the little five-yard hits, that’s good early in the game. To get those completions and to get those guys involved in the game and then to make the defense react to it, I’d say that helps in any game.
Jarquez Hunter, RB
On what has been working well the past couple of weeks…
We’ve been doing good in the run game these last couple of weeks. The O-line has been executing their blocks. They have to be patient and hit the holes. The O-line has been making their blocks.
On Carnell Williams delivering the pregame speech…
He told us the same thing that he told us last year. We have 20 or so seniors on the team, and if we don’t play for anyone else, then play for the seniors. This is their last chance playing Mississippi State, so go out there and play hard for them.
On getting back to the Jarquez Hunter that everybody knows…
It was a rough start. I had to get back into the groove and get back into the momentum. But the second half of the season is going to be better because I try to get better at practice. If I practice hard, I play hard. That’s where it starts.
On Connor Lew’s performance in his first start at center …
The offensive line did great at executing their blocks. There were some explosive runs today. Connor did good with his first start, and he progressed as the game went on. He did really good today.
Eugene Asante, LB
On what the experience in the locker room was like after the game…
It was a refreshing feeling going back into the locker room with a win. I know how much the guys were hungry for this win and how much we put into this game. Guys really do care about going out there and performing.
On the team’s success when it comes to keeping their opponents off the scoreboard…
Our coaches. I’m so grateful to Coach (Ron) Roberts and all he does to prepare us. He trusts in us and believes in us. You can see it in the meetings and everything. He cares about us as human beings. I want to go lay it all out on the line for him.
Rivaldo Fairweather, TE
On the team’s first SEC win…
It felt amazing. It’s just a start. If we’re going to win these next SEC games, we have to finish the season strong.
On Associate Head Coach Cadillac Williams’ pregame speech and his message…
He just told us to forget about everything else. Think about what we’re playing for and think about our ‘why.’ His message really touched everybody, and I saw the team out there put their head down and get to work.
Cam Riley, LB
On the defense continuing to rally during the fourth quarter…
It was good. We had many three-and-outs regarding crucial moments and points of the game. It was beneficial for the defense to get those stops toward the end of the game and get our offense on the field to seal the deal.
On the significance of this coaching staff and game planning…
One thing I want to say is that they have done big as far as game plans go. They utilize the linemen a lot more this year than opposed to the last three years. We are able to make a lot of plays in the backfield and are actually leading in sacks right now. As I said, they really utilize us and I’m getting to create plays in the backfield. They are always sending us on blitzes, stunts, and all kinds of things to create negative plays.
Jalen McLeod, JACK
On Marcus (Harris) coming along on the front and pass rushing being developed…
We just wanted more. We know we are in a bad spot right now coming in 0-4 in the SEC. We knew it was time to go get the quarterback and time to hunt. Marcus and I talk about it when we watch film together that we are here for a reason, and that is to rush. Everyone is depending on us to.
Keionte Scott, CB
On the team’s defense…
We kept on them (Mississippi State) defensively for three quarters. Coming in as a defense, we all met together and had the mindset of, ‘scoring teams don’t beat us.’ We decided to play with that mentality. At the end of the day, we have some cleaning up to do, but I felt like everyone was there. The intention was there. We all play team defense and that causes us to get off the field.
On celebrating a SEC victory…
The motto of the week was on expectation. My expectation is to close the doors at the end of the day. When you realize that the season is a season, you can’t go back and change anything. So, the main focus on what this week now includes – starting with a new slate and getting one in our pocket than starting our streak.
Connor Lew, OL
On the team’s chemistry…
A lot of the guys that are freshmen came in together. We played in the All-American Bowl together. Ever since then, we have just kind of known that our group is going to be special. We tell each other that all of the time.
On the strategy of the O-Line…
All week, we just talked about knowing their (Mississippi State’s) indicators. We knew they were going to play it and play all kinds of games up front. We did a really good job in the first half picking that up. And as a result, we were able to do well in the run game and play a lot better.
Transcript via Auburn Athletics.
