AUBURN, Ala. – Shortly after Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, senior captain Eugene Asante sent a message in the team’s group chat. “We’re so close.”
“People might not see that, but we’re so close to being the team that we want to be,” Asante said Tuesday. “It’s self-inflicted. It’s nothing that our opponents are doing to us. It’s all self-inflicted. It’s all in the moment. Big moments, we lose focus or don’t understand our assignment. Maybe the moment is too big. But we’re in these games, and we continue to beat ourselves.”
On Monday, Asante and some of the other team leaders called a players-only meeting to discuss some of those issues and how to resolve those issues with another massive game coming up this Saturday against No. 21/18 Oklahoma. When the big moments arise, who is going to make the play?
“As a kid, you dreamed of coming to Auburn and making a play in a packed stadium,” Asante said. “Don’t shy away from it. The moment is not too big for you.”
Head coach Hugh Freeze knows this Auburn team is close too. You could see it against Arkansas. The effort from the defense was incredible. The offense moved the ball and hit multiple explosive plays. But the defense has to get off the field on third-and-long, and the offense has to limit turnovers.
“It's one thing to get beat, and that happens sometimes,” Freeze said. “I’m certainly not lessening Arkansas, but it was a game we felt like was winnable. And when you don't come through and get that, it stinks. I understand it and get it and hate it.
“Having said that, there’s no better staff that I’d rather be with in the fire, or players, and I’m looking forward to going back to work and getting prepared for a very difficult opponent in Oklahoma. I love the energy our kids played with, and I know they’ll come back and fight this week in a tough, tough battle we have coming.”
This will be just the third meeting between Auburn and Oklahoma all-time. For Oklahoma, it will be their first SEC road trip since joining the conference on July 1. The Sooners (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season last week at home against Tennessee.
It’s another afternoon kickoff this week at 2:45 p.m. CT, and the Tigers are back in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC with Joe Tessitore, Jordan Rodgers and Katie George 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.
For this week’s game, fans are encouraged to wear orange.