Hugh Freeze didn't feel Auburn had the same intensity against LSU

Auburn suffered their worst loss of the season and their third consecutive defeat this past weekend as No. 22 LSU walloped them in a 48-18 loss in Baton Rouge.

Whether it was on offense or defense Auburn could not generate momentum and get the job done, which head coach Hugh Freeze attributed partially to the level of intensity his team played with on Saturday.

“Certainly we didn’t seem to have the same juice tonight, and obviously Mosiah’s [Mosiah Nasili-Kite] a good 4i anchor against the run, and losing him certainly didn’t help,” Freeze said. “But didn’t think we played with the same intensity, but they’re really really talented, you gotta give them credit too.”

Nasili-Kite has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering from a torn bicep injury in the Tigers’ previous game versus Georgia, which also happened to be a game where Auburn clearly showed a higher level of intensity.

Auburn’s back-and-forth battle with the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs went down to the wire and required a score by Georgia with under three minutes to go in the game for the defending back-to-back national champions to leave The Plains with a win. But last Saturday versus LSU, that same level of competitiveness was not seen.

“I didn’t think we fought as hard, but that’s something I’ve gotta own,” Freeze admitted. “It’s my job to get them to play hard and maybe I’ll watch the film and think differently. I don’t know, and maybe it was the fact that they leaned on us and were knocking us off the ball a little bit that made me feel that way. I don’t know, and it may be they’re that good, I don’t know. I have to watch the film.”

Freeze will see a lot of Jayden Daniels when he cuts on the film, as he terrorized Auburn’s defense with his arm and legs with 325 yards through the air, 93 rushing yards on the ground, and three touchdowns on the day. Daniels ranks third nationally in passing yards, and the Tigers currently boast the SEC’s best offense in terms of yardage and points per game.

There’s no doubt that they were a formidable opponent, but Auburn will continue facing the SEC’s top offenses as they take on No. 13 Ole Miss this weekend who ranks within the top three offenses in the conference along with Georgia and LSU.

The Tigers can’t control their competition, but they can control their effort and intensity, and it will be interesting to see if they bring more of it this weekend against the Rebels as they continue to seek their first conference win of the season.