Auburn’s Hugh Freeze with the Tigers against Kentucky after arriving a day late because of illness
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze walks off the field after losing 21-17 to Missouri in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Auburn coach Hugh Freeze arrived well ahead of the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference game against Kentucky on Saturday night and was on the sideline before kickoff after not flying with the team on Friday because of an illness.
An ESPN report said Freeze didn’t travel after falling ill on Friday. An Auburn football spokesman confirmed that the coach experienced nausea described as a “24 hour bug” but flew to Lexington on Saturday morning and was with the team as it conducted its pregame Tiger Walk into Kroger Field several hours before the scheduled 7:45 p.m. ET kickoff. Freeze went through his normal pregame routine, the spokesman added, and even took pictures on the field.
The night ended well for Freeze and the Tigers, who scored 24 straight points for a 24-10 victory.
“It would’ve really been miserable for everybody if I tried to travel with them yesterday,” said Freeze, who received an IV before the game for dehydration. “But nothing was really different other than I missed the Friday night meetings.”
The Tigers (3-5, 1-4) ended a four-game losing streak and salvaged fading bowl prospects. Auburn has won 10 straight trips to Lexington dating back to 1966 and beat a Wildcats team (3-5, 1-5) needing its own lift after a third consecutive loss and fifth in seven games.
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