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Hugh Freeze recaps win over Mississippi State, evaluates Payton Thorne’s big game
By Keith Farner
Published:
Hugh Freeze liked what he saw from his Auburn team in a 27-13 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday, the first SEC win for Freeze at Auburn.
“They don’t come easy in this league, and it didn’t come easy in the second half,” Freeze said on SEC Network after the game. “But really proud of the way they prepared, our coaches and our players, and our fans are incredible. Got a big home-field advantage here.”
Freeze then reflected on Payton Thorne, who went 20-for-26 passing for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns, his best game of the season.
“He was really solid, and it was his to take, and if he hadn’t, we would have gone in another direction, but he did well and I’m really proud for him because obviously the quarterbacks (have) taken a lot of criticism at times, and I understand the coaches get it, the kids get it, so it was good to see him play well.”
Freeze noted the value of this win as the program continues to build toward a turnaround.
“We’ve been through a very difficult stretch and you look ahead and you think, ‘Man, if we can just get some momentum, we can really turn this around and give us some momentum going into the offseason,’ and that’s our hope. We’ve got to come and go to work, we’ve got 2 on the road in this league, which are always difficult.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
