Hugh Freeze reacts to Auburn's turnover margin

Auburn has gotten off to a 3-0 start under coach Hugh Freeze, but it’s been far from perfect. And turnover margin looms large as a potential problem if it isn’t fixed soon.

The Tigers rank near the middle of the pack nationally in turnover margin, but that’s as much a product of coming away with several takeaways as anything else. Auburn ranks near last in the country with seven turnovers already, ranking 115th nationally.

The team turned it over three times in its 45-13 win over Samford.

“Yeah, the two interceptions we just can’t do it,” head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’ve got to just keep working on it. You’re going to have some of those, but one of them certainly shouldn’t have happened.”

It wasn’t just starting quarterback Payton Thorne that was at fault, though he threw two interceptions in the contest. Auburn also got loose with the football on special teams.

The Tigers muffed two punts in the game, losing one of them to the Bulldogs, making the overall turnover margin -1 for Auburn.

“Now the punt, we were down to our third punt returner and we’ve got to get him more reps, obviously,” Freeze said. “Then went to our fourth punt returner, (Jay Fair), on the next one. But we need to get some more reps on that for sure.”

Auburn is out of time to get the issues fixed, too. A road trip to Texas A&M looms this weekend, followed by games against No. 1 Georgia, at No. 12 LSU and then against No. 15 Ole Miss. A brutal stretch, to say the least.

One that certainly won’t be very forgiving of turnovers.

Robby Ashford to continue playing

While Thorne is Auburn’s starting quarterback and there’s been no real question about that so far, backup Robby Ashford has been involved as well. Ashford brings a nice running element to the table.

But if the issues with the turnover margin persist due to Thorne, he’ll be available to step in in a pinch.

At the very least Freeze has confirmed he’ll continue to be in the gameplan as the competition gets stiffer.

“That’s the plan, as long as we’re playing well,” said Freeze. “Look, this is just like life; you gotta do your job well. And if you do your job well, things usually work out. If you don’t, things usually don’t work out. We have confidence, and I thought he threw it really well the other night and made one bad decision. But the other week, we should own as coaches. So, I hope he continues to build on that… And gain confidence from it.

“At the same time, I’ve been clear about Robby has a role. I do believe, particularly against the level of athleticism we’re getting ready to see. I think there’s a role for him too. He threw it well when he came in the other night. But you can be herky-jerky, in and out. I think that’s something we all agree on.”

Auburn and Texas A&M will meet at noon on Saturday with a broadcast on ESPN.