Moment Of Truth: Paul Finebaum takes temperature check on Hugh Freeze ahead of Week 1

The SEC will begin its college football season with sixteen games from Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. However, the one set for Friday night will have the attention of Paul Finebaum when Auburn goes on the road to play at Baylor.

On ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ on Monday, Finebaum was asked what his biggest question was going into week one around the Southeastern Conference. He went with that opening game for Auburn against the Bears come Friday.

“It is Friday night at Waco,” said Finebaum. “I want to know what’s going on with Auburn.”

There’s just so much with the Tigers that Finebaum wants answers to, which could get answered right from opening kickoff for their team to start year three under Hugh Freeze. That obviously starts with how their play will look, but also comes down to the fact that this feels very close to a must-win for Auburn considering how the rest of their schedule plays out and how this result could change the course of their season down on The Plains.

“Forget all the nonsensical conversation off the field,” said Finebaum. “What is Jackson Arnold going to look like on the field? Is this team really as good as some people are whispering from a talent standpoint? How do they mesh together? Have a good staff down there. They have the best roster under Hugh Freeze. And, what do they do in a moment of truth?”

“And, I think this really is (a moment of truth) because of the very obvious. They don’t have a lot of games to throw away, and this is a game that I think, perceptively, looks like a very narrow win but it’s up against a team that in the Big 12 is considered to be a riser – a very good coach, a team that has come back from the dead,” Finebaum said. “A win energizes a, possibly, really good season, and a loss does just the opposite.”

By that point, everyone’s focus will be on Saturday’s slate of games going into two others on Sunday. Still, Auburn vs. Baylor is an important matchup on Friday night, with it being a chance for the Tigers to showcase what they can be this season starting out on FOX.

“One of Auburn’s biggest issues is just trying to get back on the national scene, and I’m not telling you guys anything because you guys are part of that scene. But, you know, on all the shows outside of the SEC footprint, Auburn doesn’t exist anymore. I’ve been on some of these shows, and I know you have too, where I’ve suggested certain stories at Auburn and they’re met like, ‘Auburn? What is that?'” Finebaum said. “We know how big Auburn has been, and it wasn’t all that long ago. But, when you have a losing streak like the school has had, had kind of, you know, disheartening seasons? You move out of the main lane. And then, college football is so much bigger than it was five years ago, and all the energy? It’s about a handful of schools. Alabama is part of that. Auburn is not, at least not right now.”

Now, that all said, where is Finebaum actually at on Auburn going into game week? He says he’s actually becoming more optimistic, thinking they could have their best record in a half decade having not had a winning season since 2019. That’s with opportunities out there for the Tigers, starting on Friday night at Baylor as well as a pair of games against rivals in Georgia and Alabama inside Jordan-Hare.

“I feel good. And, you know, it’s easy to be an optimist on a gorgeous, late summer morning in Alabama when the record is 0-0. So, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt,” said Finebaum. “I think, for all the criticism that he has received, and much of it is self-inflicted? At the core, he’s a good football coach. He’s got everything he needs. I don’t know with a guy, with the kind of record that he has, and some of the off the field miscues that he has suffered, if he could have any more support from John Cohen and this administration.”

“So, I mean, I’m not predicting a playoff. I think 8-4 would be considered a reasonable record. I think that is doable,” Finebaum said. “I think the home schedule is favorable in the sense of, you know, the two biggest games of the year are at home and Auburn has the ability to perhaps shock one of those two – meaning Georgia or Alabama.”

This kickoff is one that fans of the Tigers have been waiting for, whether it be confidently or anxiously. They’ll then know what kind of team, and, with that, season, they could have in Auburn this fall by the time that opener is done down in Waco.