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Auburn football: 5 reasons Tigers fans should feel optimistic about the 2023 season
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Auburn will raise the curtain on the Hugh Freeze Era on Saturday when it hosts UMass in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It figures to be a triumphant beginning on The Plains for Freeze. Auburn opened as a 39.5-point favorite over a Minutemen squad coming off a 1-11 season. But it may not be the breeze everyone was thinking before UMass opened the 2023 schedule in Week 0 last Saturday with a rather impressive 41-30 victory on the road over New Mexico State, snapping a 9-game losing streak.
Nevertheless, it’s expected that Toomer’s Corner will be wrapped for the 1st time in 2023 come Saturday night and Tigers fans will be excited about what might be this season. Aside from the expected cupcake victory, Auburn faithful should feel optimistic for these 5 reasons:
1. New coach, new attitude
It appears as though Auburn Nation is on the same page and fully backing Freeze in his endeavor to put the Tigers back on the map. A winner at Ole Miss, not exactly the easiest place to succeed consistently, Freeze’s Rebels won 10 games in 2015. It was just the 2nd 10-win season at Ole Miss since 2003. In each of the 2 previous seasons, Freeze elevated the Rebels to a No. 3 ranking. It was their highest ranking since 1964.
Bringing the Tigers back to prominence is the new task for Freeze, and he appears up to the challenge. More recently, Freeze won 10 games in 2020 at Liberty and between 2019-21 won 3 straight bowl games for the Flames while garnering a top-20 ranking along the way.
Auburn fans are already giddy over the possibilities with Freeze at the helm, and 2023 should be the beginning of something big on The Plains.
2. QB a Thorne in the side of the SEC
It’s been since 2009 that Auburn finished in the top half of the SEC in passing. Twice since then the Tigers have finished last in the conference in passing, including last year.
But that’s about to change with the addition of Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne. A 2-year starter for the Spartans, Thorne surpassed the 6,000-yard mark in passing during a stint that included 46 TD passes. Granted, he’ll have to cut down on the interceptions (21 over 2 seasons), but under Freeze’s tutelage it should be a workable proposition.
Just for reference, Thorne threw for 3,232 yards in 2021 at Michigan State. Only 1 quarterback in the history of Auburn football has thrown for more yards in a season.
Can you name him? It’s Dameyune Craig, who threw for 3,277 yards in 1997.
For further reference, consider this — Freeze’s Ole Miss teams were top 5 in the SEC in passing each year he was there, including leading the conference in passing over his final 2 years (2015 and ’16). In 2015, Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 4,042 yards.
Yeah, Freeze likes to put the ball in the air, and that should make for an exciting 2023 season.
3. Meet Mr. Near Perfect
Now that the most prolific brothers to ever kick a football in college have taken their talents to the NFL, you’d expect the kicking game to drop off dramatically at Auburn. But just because the Carlson brothers are no longer on campus doesn’t mean the Tigers can expect kicking woes in 2023. In fact, it could turn out to be just the opposite.
Say hello to Alex McPherson. In 3 games as a freshman last season at Auburn, Mr. Near Perfect successfully booted 6 of 7 field-goal tries, including a 51-yarder against Western Kentucky, and was a perfect 9 for 9 on extra-point attempts.
The top-rated high school kicker in the country, according to 247Sports and Rivals, the Fort Payne, Alabama, product holds the state record with a 61-yard field goal. He may not make Tigers fans completely forget about the Carlson brothers, but he’s poised to make a name for himself on The Plains beginning in 2023.
4. The punter is a weapon
The kicking game is solid at Auburn. In addition to McPherson’s field-goal kicking, the Tigers have 1 of the top punters in the conference in Oscar Chapman. The rising senior will be a weapon again in 2023 after placing 2nd in the SEC in punting with a 44.1-yard average in 2021 and ranking 3rd last season with a 43.8-yard average.
The Australian was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist last season and looks to take home the hardware in 2023.
5. Senior leadership
Freeze hit the transfer portal hard to shore up the Tigers’ roster for the 2023 season and plucked a group of mostly seniors to help lead the way. Of those transfers, 12 are projected to start for Auburn this season, and 9 of those 12 transfers are seniors.
All told, 15 of 22 projected starters are seniors and the other 7 are juniors. It’s certainly an experienced group that will take the field for Auburn in 2023, and that means something in the country’s most competitive conference division.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
