Hugh Freeze came just short of a very early signature win for his young career at Auburn on Saturday.

Auburn took Georgia down to the wire, but a late touchdown from the Bulldogs followed by an interception from the offense sealed the deal and Georgia won 27-20.

While Freeze and the Auburn fanbase would have liked to leave the day with a win, it is certainly encouraging to see the Tigers hang with the nations best. But Freeze knows that success at Auburn isn’t going to come over night. Saturday was a step in the right direction.

“The growth, unfortunately, in life and in football, the growth usually comes more in the valley than it does the mountaintop,” Freeze said in a postgame press conference.

While progress takes time, the loss is definitely going to be sitting with Freeze for a while.

Freeze was encouraged with the effort his team gave the entire game. Even against the No. 1 team in the country, the Tigers put forth outstanding effort all 4 quarters.

Freeze liked what he saw from quarterback Robby Ashford on Saturday. Freeze used him almost entirely on the ground and he picked up 33 yards and a touchdown. Moving forward, Freeze wants to get him more touches as the Tigers continue to utilize the 2-quarterback system.

Despite the loss, Freeze thinks the game will be good for recruiting. Freeze said there were a lot of recruits at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and seeing that kind of environment definitely does some favors.

Now Auburn will flip the switch to another tough matchup against LSU next week. The Tigers were close on Saturday, and next week they’ll be looking for that signature win.