Hugh Freeze and Auburn faced an embarrassing loss to New Mexico State on Saturday.

In a game that the Tigers’ paid New Mexico State over $1 million to play in, the Aggies crushed Auburn 31-10. Freeze didn’t shy away from calling the game what it was: an embarrassment.

“About as disappointed as I’ve ever been in coaching with Saturday’s effort,” Freeze said in his press conference Monday. “And it was an embarrassment too and it just can’t happen like that. It starts with me. I have to get our coaches and players ready to play and I obviously missed the mark tremendously… It’s frustrating and sickening to watch. I’m ticked off, I hope they’re ticked off, I haven’t seen them yet, but we’ve gotta learn from that for sure.”

Freeze believes one of the factors that led to the loss is a lack of connection within the team. He called a lack of connection one of the biggest issues in college football locker rooms today, and now he’s looking to develop a further connection with his team so they are prepared for games like Saturday’s.

“When we have that true connection and relationship you can truly hold each other accountable,” Freeze said. “That’s something I’ve got to work on for us to feel more connected, for when you get hit in the face like you did Saturday.”