Auburn coach Hugh Freeze should stop worrying about Nick Saban and focus on catching Kirby Smart

Hugh Freeze’s ability to match wits with Nick Saban no longer matters, and his 2-4 career record against the GOAT can no longer headline Freeze’s résumé.

Saban retired. Seven months ago. He’s a golfer and a talking head now. Saban can’t hurt Auburn anymore.

The day Saban retired, the SEC overlord mantle passed to Kirby Smart. He’s 8-1 against Auburn. He’s the nemesis Freeze ought to worry about, instead of his close misses against the retiree.

It’s perhaps because of Saban’s retirement status that Freeze boasted this summer on the SEC Network's “Marty & McGee” that he should have four career wins against Saban instead of two.

“We did understand what complicated (Alabama’s) calls,” Freeze, Auburn’s second-year coach, said during that TV appearance, “and, honestly, Nick is incredible, but I should have four wins against him.”

Honestly, Freeze blew those winnable games against Alabama while Ole Miss’ coach in 2016 and in the Iron Bowl last year. And he knows it.

“You have to get it done when you have the chances,” Freeze said Tuesday on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” while elaborating on his previous remarks about Saban.

Yep. And get it done against New Mexico State, too, instead of losing by three touchdowns.

But, enough about yesteryear. And, enough about Saban. Because something stirs in Auburn.

This proud program, once one of the SEC’s finest, spent the past few years in a coma. The Auburn revival still has a ways to go, but I detect signs of life.

The stench of the Bryan Harsin era is starting to lift, and Freeze smells blooming crepe myrtles.

“The team’s culture is better. The team’s chemistry is better. The team’s accountability is better. The effort is better,” Freeze told reporters last week. “Our roster is better. I don’t know what that means for Year 2, but I enjoy where we are right now.”

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There’s a reason the Tigers weren’t among the nine SEC teams ranked in preseason polls. Auburn’s offensive line remains average, and average would be a kind assessment of its quarterback situation.

There’s also a reason why Auburn received votes in each major poll. The Tigers are relevant after Freeze addressed some glaring roster needs in the offseason. Specifically, he upgraded his wide receivers.

The only Power Four teams that averaged fewer passing yards per game last season than Auburn?

Minnesota, Rutgers, Nebraska and Iowa. Those four schools are dues-paying members of the Plod-It-Out fraternity. A passing game that emulates a low-octane Big Ten school won’t cut it in today’s SEC.

Freeze seized some instant relief in the form of transfers KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Robert Lewis, the top receivers last season at Penn State and Georgia State. Freeze also signed five-star freshman Cam Coleman. Auburn hasn’t had a trio of receivers this good in at least a decade.

Hugh Freeze changes Auburn coordinators, not quarterbacks

That leaves the sticking points, though, of a quarterback needing to get the ball in their hands, and an offensive line providing ample pass protection.

Experienced linemen will flank Connor Lew, the team’s talented sophomore center. This is a mid-tier SEC line. Not the SEC’s worst line. Far from its best, too.

The Tigers averaged 16.6 points in their seven losses last season, but fifth-year senior Payton Thorne retained his grasp on the starting quarterback job. He’s thrown at least 10 interceptions in each of his past three seasons.

“Having guys he feels like can win at the top end of the route is helpful to eliminate some of that hesitation,” Freeze said.

Better wide receivers will help, but they won’t totally transform Thorne.

Freeze will pitch in. He’ll call Auburn’s offensive plays after he dumped offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery following last season.

“He is more involved in the offense,” Thorne said of Freeze, “and this is a big difference.”

Most coaches have so much on their plate nowadays that they deputize a coordinator to call plays, but Freeze’s offensive acumen is why he beat Saban twice and why he nearly beat him twice more.

Who could forget that? Not Freeze.

Now, it’s time to beat a few more active SEC coaches.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.