Hugh Freeze is building something special on The Plains. The Auburn Tigers became bowl eligible again on Saturday, flattening Arkansas, 48-10, on the road for their 6th win of the season. Auburn improved to 6-4 (3-4 SEC) with 2 games remaining, and it will return to the postseason after breaking a streak of 9 bowl appearances last year.

Call it an easy stretch in the schedule, continued development of the program or, more realistically, a little of both. But Auburn is looking like a formidable team. And it hasn’t always been that way this season.

Auburn’s mashing of Arkansas was its 3rd consecutive victory, all in SEC play. Wins over Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Arkansas were a positive response to the Tigers’ 4-game skid that included losses to Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss.

But the schedule has eased up a bit, and the Tigers are taking advantage. Included in the win streak are back-to-back SEC road victories (at Vanderbilt and Arkansas). That’s an accomplishment regardless of the opposition.

It’s no coincidence that Auburn’s recent streak has run parallel with the maturity of quarterback Payton Thorne in the system. Since being given the keys to the offense, Thorne has been a different player — a more confident player, a more free-wheeling player who has allowed his natural athletic ability to shine.

No longer looking over his shoulder or in a platoon with now-backup QB Robby Ashford, Thorne has taken command of an offense that rolled up 517 total yards vs. the Hogs. The passing quarterback — who threw for 3,232 yards at Michigan State in 2021 before transferring to Auburn prior to this season — has turned into a dual-threat QB, using his legs to add another dimension to his game.

The combination of run and pass has worked well for the mobile QB. In those 3 straight victories, Thorne threw for a combined 587 yards and 8 TDs with just 2 picks. He completed 49 of 73 passes. In addition, Thorne rushed for 166 yards and 1 TD on 32 carries.

It’s a welcome infusion to an offense that had struggled mightily to that point. Saturday marked Auburn’s first 500-yard conference game since 2020, when the Tigers totaled 506 yards in a 48-11 victory over LSU.

Now that the Tigers have punched their ticket for the postseason, they can turn their attention to the final 2 games of the regular season. Both will be at Jordan-Hare. The Tigers welcome in C-USA foe New Mexico State on Saturday, then play the Iron Bowl.

Auburn will be a healthy favorite for Saturday, and a 7-win season is likely. The Tigers haven’t recorded more than 6 wins in a season since 2019, when a Gus Malzahn-coached team posted a 9-4 record.

Don’t look now, but if the Tigers win out — knock off New Mexico State on Saturday and upset the Tide in the Iron Bowl — they would equal that 9-4 mark by adding a bowl victory to an already successful season.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Enjoy the big win over Arkansas and get ready to take out the non-conference foe. Then go into the Iron Bowl with a possible 4-game winning streak and a 7-4 record overall.

That would be pretty impressive, especially considering that the Tigers are coming off back-to-back losing seasons. The work Freeze has done through the portal in rebuilding the roster, as well as his hands-on work with the offense, have paid dividends.

And it’s just the beginning. Give Freeze some time to really put his stamp on the program, and the sky is the limit to what he can do at Auburn. The future looks bright.