AUBURN, Ala. – Flip the Script. It's been the theme for head coach Hugh Freeze and this Auburn football team. It started back in the spring, and per Freeze in one of his messages to the team, "The way you flip the script is day by day."
Next Game:
vs. UMass
Sept. 2, 2023
2:30.m. CT
TV: ESPN
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
Each one of those days, each 24-hour period since the spring, has led to this. On Saturday, the Tigers will take the field for the first time this season against UMass.
"It's really about rewiring your mind and how you prepare for these 12 opportunities that we're given," Freeze said. "And it's something that has been done daily, that whatever is driving your beliefs are going to drive some type of behavior. And that behavior is going to create some habits and those habits will ultimately give us all our destiny.
"The more of those days that we stack – that we're doing things the right way, with the right attitude and the right passion – the more prepared we'll be."
For Freeze, Saturday will mark his first game as the Auburn head coach.
"I don't think I've ever been at a place that has quite the enthusiasm, passion and energy that Jordan-Hare is going to have," he said. "I will take a moment to take that in."
For the players and fans, it will be the first game back in Jordan-Hare Stadium since last November when the Tigers won back-to-back games against Texas A&M and Western Kentucky under interim head coach Carnell Williams.
There was a special feeling then, and it's carried over throughout the offseason. From Freeze's hire to spring practice and A-Day to summer workouts and fall camp – there's been a buzz around this football team that has been slowly building. Nobody knows what to expect, Freeze included, but everybody is excited football is back.
"Obviously, you want to win the game and you want to look good," Freeze said. "But there's always a fear you have of not quite being sure how a new team that we've put together ever since we've been here, and now they're about to get out there in front of 88,000 and a loud crowd. How will we handle all our emotions? Will it cause us to have a foolish penalty here or there? Things like that you can't do and win games. I just hope it's a clean game for us."
Saturday's season opener will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT from Jordan-Hare Stadium and will be televised on ESPN with Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison and Stormy Buonantony on the call. You can also listen to Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown and Will Herring who will have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app.
It's another White Out to open the season, so fans are asked to wear white to the game.
Three questions with TE Luke Deal
Q: Game week is finally here. How excited are you?
A: I think all offseason long you think about what that first game is going to be like. You want to go through each day as its own day, but you always have the first game in mind. For that to finally be here, game planning and everything elevates. Your intensity elevates. Each and every day is intense. Each and every day you work hard. But whenever there's an opponent who is also doing that same stuff and you know they're doing the same things each and every day, you kind of flip the switch in your mind.
Q: Have you noticed the buzz around campus leading up to the season?
A: Absolutely. When you walk around and people want to talk Auburn football, you can just see it on their face. You can see the excitement. You can hear what they're saying. They're excited. They're ready to see what we can do. That means a lot to me. That means a lot to everybody in this football program. We constantly talk about how each and every day is its own day and how we need to keep the outside noise out, but we're also playing for a university that's extremely prestigious and one that I'm extremely proud to play for. Playing for those fans and playing for this university, that's a big deal to me and to this team. To hear that the Auburn Family is excited, it means a lot for us.
Q: What should we expect from the offense this season?
A: Hopefully you can expect some versatility, and that's something that we've missed the past couple years. We've done some things really well. We've done some things not so well. This offense, this unit, across the board – offensive line, tight ends, running backs, receivers, quarterbacks – everybody is priding themselves on versatility. We can do so many things. We've got the guys to do it. We've got the game plan to do it. I'm excited to see how versatile we can actually be whenever we step in Jordan-Hare.
Inside the Series: UMass
This will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the Tigers and the Minutemen. UMass is the 87th team of 133 current FBS members that Auburn has played. Of the 86 FBS teams Auburn has played previously, the Tigers have defeated 79 at least once with the only exceptions: Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, South Florida and Texas Tech.
Last year, Hugh Freeze's Liberty team beat UMass 42-24 on Oct. 8. The Flames accounted for 453 total yards. It was Don Brown's first year as the UMass head coach.
By the Numbers
101: Auburn defeated Mercer 42-16 in last year's season opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium, improving its record to 101-27-2 (.785) all-time in season openers. The Tigers have won 15 of their last 17 openers dating back to the 2006 season.
200: Auburn rushed for 200+ yards in four home games last season, going 4-0 in those contests (285 vs. Mercer, 210 vs. San Jose State, 270 vs. Texas A&M, 252 vs. Western Kentucky). The Tigers rushed for 250 or more yards in five of the last six games of 2022.
7: Auburn's defense held the opponent scoreless in the first quarter in seven games last season. The Tigers held Texas A&M scores in the first half, marking the first shutout for a first half since the 2021 Iron Bowl against Alabama.
88,043: Because of updated premium seating, the capacity at Jordan-Hare Stadium is now 88,043. Auburn has already sold out five of its seven home games, including Saturday's opener. Auburn season ticket sales set a record with 63,500 purchased this summer.