Auburn’s Hugh Freeze ‘glad to be on the home sideline’ of Jordan-Hare Stadium

Hugh Freeze stood on the away team sideline of Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2013 and 2015 as the head coach of Ole Miss.
In his first trip, Freeze and the No. 24 Rebels were upset by Auburn, who was piloted by a brilliant performance from quarterback Nick Marshall. In 2015, Freeze had Ole Miss ranked No. 19 when it visited Auburn and led the Rebels to a 27-19 win.
Freeze might not remember exactly how each of those games shook out whistle to whistle, he does remember one thing.
“It was tough,” Freeze said of coaching against Auburn at Jordan-Hare. “I’m glad I’m going to be on the home sideline.”
That’s one of the advantages of Freeze having been part of the SEC in the past ― he knows visiting other stadiums around the league isn’t easy.
LSU’s Brian Kelly, for example, is prepping for his second season in the SEC after coming from Notre Dame. And last season, Kelly got his first taste of playing on the road in the SEC as he and the Tigers visited Auburn, Florida, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Of those four trips, Kelly told CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee that Jordan-Hare and Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium we’re standouts.
“I appreciate Coach Kelly acknowledging that,” Freeze said. “I think our fans are incredible.”
During the offseason, Freeze had opportunities to speak at Camp War Eagle, Auburn University’s freshman orientation.
“We’re training them to help it be the most difficult place that opponents get to see,” Freeze said of the student body.
Earlier this month, Auburn announced that season tickets were sold out after selling 63,500 season tickets — a program record. The record previously sat at 62,900, which was set ahead of the 2014 season.
Georgia’s visit to Auburn on Sept. 30 is sold out, while the tickets left for the Iron Bowl are slim.
“I think that just speaks to the passion our fans have, not to mention students when they get in there, too, and I’m really excited about experiencing that from the home sideline,” Freeze said.