Hugh Freeze makes a huge Week 3 change after an offensive disaster-class vs. Cal

Admittedly, Hugh Freeze had to do something. After seeing Payton Thorne's absolutely dreadful four-interception performance vs. Justin Wilcox's California Golden Bears, Freeze had to make a change at starting quarterback. Thorne will be riding pine for the Auburn Tigers on Saturday vs. Bronco Mendenhall's upstart New Mexico Lobos, as it will be redshirt freshman Hank Brown getting the start.

This was a season where Auburn was expecting to make the jump under Freeze. The Tigers may still be able to do that, but already dropping a game in non-conference play vs. a team that had to travel across the country to play you is incredibly concerning. I think it goes to show how well-coached Cal is under Wilcox. Conversely, why didn't Freeze try to get a better quarterback in the transfer portal?

You can tell by the tone of this quote that Freeze was massively disappointed in Thorne's awful play.

"There's a very, very short leash on us playing as poorly as we did in certain moments in that game at that position," said Freeze, h/t ESPN.

Freeze made the change midweek in the lead-up to the New Mexico game. Auburn may have its whole season right in front of it, but it is hard to envision the Tigers still going something like 8-4 with a brutal home loss to Cal. The Golden Bears may be stout defensively, but has no shot in most SEC games if their starting quarterback is as careless with the football as what Thorne was last weekend.

Brown is totally unproven, but a change was necessary after the Tigers' disaster down on The Plains.

Hugh Freeze makes the big change necessary at quarterback for Auburn

This has to be frustrating for War Eagle Nation because Freeze was hired amid controversy to be a team that scared Auburn's biggest rivals. Now in the early stages of year two for him down on The Plains, does Auburn strike fear in the minds of Alabama, Georgia and LSU fans? Not at all, and that is a huge problem... This is every bit a college football blue-blood, so why not get a better quarterback?

There are a few teams who fall in this same bucket as Auburn, most notably Michigan. As we got later and later into the offseason, I kept wondering why Power Four teams like Auburn and Michigan were not actively pursuing Dequan Finn, Jordan McCloud or Dante Moore in the portal. One plays for a bad Baylor team. Another is shining at Texas State. The third is Dillon Gabriel's noted backup at Oregon.

Freeze may have put too much faith in Thorne. Brown could be a revelation under center for the Tigers, but you have to feel like Auburn will be coming up short in most quarterback matchups they take part in for the rest of the season. Football is a team game, but having substandard quarterback play is a great way to lose winnable games. Look no further than the home disaster last week vs. Cal.

I still have faith that Freeze will make Auburn menacing, but that day may not be coming until 2025...