AUBURN, Ala. – The mood is always better after a win, and Auburn is experiencing that this week following its win over Mississippi State on Saturday. Now the challenge for head coach Hugh Freeze and his team is to build on that as the Tigers prepare for their upcoming road trip to Vanderbilt.
"I'm excited to sit here with an SEC win, for sure," Freeze said Monday in his weekly press conference. "I'm proud of the improvement that I thought our kids showed and the job our staff did. I think it's a direct reflection of accountability to little things that we are trying to instill in the way we operate on a daily basis here. It's good to see them have success on the field, and hopefully, we can grow from that."
Freeze is not taking Vanderbilt lightly either. Playing on the road in the SEC is never easy, and the Commodores have played better at home this season, staying competitive with the likes of Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia.
"This is a scary game to me," Freeze said. "I've always thought playing there (Vanderbilt) was difficult, for whatever reason. I know you can look at their schedule or their record and say whatever, but they've played a tough stretch with Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, and Ole Miss. That's a tough stretch of games, and they've been competitive at times in all of them.
"It's a difficult place to play, and it's got my full attention. Hopefully, our kids will be mature enough to approach this with the same hunger that they did last week."
Watch the full press conference above as Freeze previews Saturday's game.