Hugh Freeze flip-flops on Auburn QB1 for Week 5 against Oklahoma

No matter how it ends, we know exactly how it is going to end for Hugh Freeze at Auburn this week. Should Tigers prove victorious, Freeze will probably break his arm to pat himself on the back for going back to Payton Thorne over Hank Brown as the team's starting quarterback. Should Auburn fall to 2-3 with a loss to Oklahoma, Freeze will find anyone and everyone to throw under the bus again.

It may be way too early in the season, but this is a critical game for both teams. In this gotta-have-it game for the Sooners and Tigers, the loser will be under the microscope by its fan base. Oklahoma did not have much of an answer vs. Tennessee at home last week. As for Auburn, the Tigers have already lost twice this year, first to Cal in the non-conference and then to Arkansas just last week.

As with Auburn, Oklahoma is making a quarterback change. Jackson Arnold looked like a sad puppy in the first half of the Sooners' home defeat to the Volunteers. While the Sooners offense came alive to some extent once Michael Hawkins Jr. entered the game, it could yield disastrous consequences for Brent Venables and his program. Nobody is going to want to play there because he punted on Arnold.

The winner of this game could start to feel good about itself again, but the loser will be in the pits.

Hugh Freeze is going back to Payton Thorne as Auburn's starting QB

When it comes to who lose this game more between Freeze and Venables, it has to be the former. Even though he and Venables are under sizable contracts as SEC coaches, Venables just got extended. Plus, this is his first year as an SEC head coach. While Freeze may be relatively new to Auburn, he won prolifically before at Ole Miss, albeit ending with a scandal nearly a decade ago.

Though I would not say Boomer Sooner Nation has turned on Venables just yet, War Eagle Nation is an incredibly fractured fanbase. Hiring Freeze away from Liberty was incredibly controversial at the time. The hope was he would instill fear in the minds of Auburn's biggest rivals. A year and a third into his Auburn tenure, the Tigers are unsettled at quarterback and lose to teams like Cal and Arkansas.

Admittedly, benching Thorne felt a tad premature. He may have played atrociously in the home loss to Cal, but he was the reason why Auburn did not pursue a better quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason for some reason. Frankly, Auburn should have, and they are paying a price for it dearly. Going back to Thorne gives Auburn a decided edge over Oklahoma going with Hawkins in this one.

Then again, if Auburn were to somehow lose and fall to 2-3 with Thorne under center, it will be awful...