This is an opinion column.
___________________
Hugh Freeze is lucky he has such a great recruiting class lined up for next week’s early national signing day.
Auburn’s second-year coach might not have a job otherwise after this Iron Bowl.
I’ve seen a lot of terrible ideas during football games through the years, but Freeze’s decision to green light a pass by running back Jarquez Hunter in the fourth quarter on Saturday will go down as one of the worst calls in the history of this storied rivalry game.
Alabama 28, Auburn 14 will be remembered as Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s debut victory in the Iron Bowl. He didn’t do much to win it, though. The game was defined by mistakes, and none were bigger, or more bizarre, than the interception thrown by Hunter with 11:42 left in the game.
Down by 14 points, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne started the ill-conceived sequence by tossing a pass to Hunter near the Alabama sideline. Hunter, Auburn’s stocky running back, then attempted to throw the ball back across Alabama’s entire defense to the opposite sideline.
Hunter’s pass made it about halfway before being intercepted by Alabama safety Bray Hubbard. The game was all but over after that despite another three-turnover performance by Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Why was Hunter throwing the ball at such a critical moment in the game? Freeze was trying to be cute in his first game back in Tuscaloosa since coaching Ole Miss, but the interception instead made him look like a sideline circus clown.
And don’t put the play on Hunter either. For the record, I don’t think Brett Favre could have made that throw.
Auburn was only in the game at that point because Alabama’s quarterback kept giving the ball away.
Freeze’s employment status is safe for now. He’s holding one of the top recruiting classes in the country as an insurance policy and signing day is on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, this Iron Bowl is going to be a distant memory for Auburn fans — especially if Freeze can flip five-star Parker cornerback Na’eem Offord from Ohio State to the Tigers.
But this time next year? Auburn’s coach has bet everything on his third season on the Plains. If Freeze doesn’t win the Iron Bowl in 2025, then it might be time to start throwing money at Deion Sanders.
That’s if Arkansas or some other desperate team in the SEC doesn’t hire Coach Prime first.
Has there ever been an Iron Bowl with two fan bases equally angry at both coaches?
If only Alabama cared to win so much last week in Oklahoma. If only Freeze cared at all about this entire season.
It’d be nice if this were the final Iron Bowl that didn’t matter to the College Football Playoff committee.
Or to the futures of both underperforming coaches.
This season was a bust for Auburn when Freeze decided to go with Payton Thorne at quarterback instead of bringing in a better transfer. For Alabama, new coach DeBoer struggled with the grind of the SEC and now goes into the bowl season having proven nothing about his ability to succeed retired coach Nick Saban.
DeBoer came to Alabama as the hottest coach in the country. He’s not anymore. The Crimson Tide choked away its playoff chances last week against the Sooners with the worst performance by an Alabama team in recent memory. This Iron Bowl doesn’t paper over that mess.
Freeze has his own problems, but there might be more questions about DeBoer’s future with the Tide.
Can he hold onto his roster after a disappointing season that included losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma? Can he find a quarterback for next season better than Milroe?
And, finally, will DeBoer be fired if he doesn’t make the College Football Playoff next season?
Probably so.
The eyes of the College Football Playoff committee were elsewhere on this final Saturday of the season. Alabama remains an afterthought and Auburn a sideshow of curious obscurity. We can only hope that the money for players keeps rolling in, and that Texas and Ohio State don’t come calling with their Lamborghinis.
BE HEARD
Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.
Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
