Auburn football's Hugh Freeze in search of 'true connection' with Iron Bowl looming

AUBURN — Not many people even entertained the thought, but Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze said he acknowledged the chance it could happen.

The Tigers were beaten by New Mexico State on Saturday, demolished and embarrassed at home in Jordan-Hare Stadium by a Conference USA team that was previously 0-24 against SEC competition. The Aggies didn't just pull the upset, they trounced Auburn by three scores.

"I told my wife Saturday morning (that) I'm really concerned about, 'Are we really ready to understand you have to earn the right to win a game?' I was concerned, but it's my job to have them ready, and it's our coaches' jobs," Freeze said at his weekly press conference Monday. "And we, as a staff, this morning had a lot of heart to hearts. Obviously, we failed in getting that message across to our young men."

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New Mexico State jumped on Auburn early. The Aggies walked down the field to score an opening-possession touchdown and forced the Tigers to go three-and-out on their first drive. It took Auburn until the second quarter to get on the board with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Payton Thorne to Rivaldo Fairweather.

That was the last touchdown for the Tigers. The only other score came via the foot of kicker Alex McPherson, who drilled a 48-yarder with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

"One of the things I think is the greatest challenge we have probably now in these college football rooms, team rooms, staffing, is true connection just to where, 'Man, I'm really playing for you and I'm really playing for the school.' And when we have that true connection in a relationship, you can really hold each other accountable," Freeze said. "That's something I've got to work on to for us to feel more connected for when you get hit in the face like you did Saturday."

Freeze's fears of a loss to New Mexico State stemmed from the way his team practiced throughout the week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. With Alabama and the Iron Bowl looming, he needs to see some intensity early this week to feel confident his team has a shot.

"Tuesday's practice needs to be physical," Freeze said. "It needs to set the tone of what this game's going to be like, and you're going to get punched in the mouth this game. You better be ready to respond. It's going to be a physical test of your will, and of you physically, also."

Freeze added: "They get a choice. Everybody has a choice of how you respond to whatever you're dealing with, and we'll all have that choice this week. You sure would hope that if they've got any type of competitive spirit in them as an individual, they're going to shake off the cobwebs and get ready for this war that they're getting ready to go into, and it will be that."

The Tigers have the advantage of the Iron Bowl being in Jordan-Hare Stadium — coach Nick Saban is 4-4 in that building since he was brought to Tuscaloosa in 2007 — but getting over a devastating loss and recovering to give an Alabama team that's rolling a challenge will be one of the toughest tests of the season, if not the toughest.

"I don't know yet," Freeze said when asked if his team is capable of moving on from the NMSU debacle. "I sure hope so. You play this game or coach this game long enough, you're going to have some of those (tough losses). How you respond to it will determine a lot about you as a team and as a person. I wish I had a better pulse for that, but I haven't seen them yet. I met with the Culture Council this morning, (and) I like their response.

"But that's going to be a good test for all of us to see how we respond."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football striving for 'true connection' ahead of Iron Bowl