Hugh Freeze doesn’t love playing game at Arkansas’ Razorback Stadium, he admitted in his Monday morning press conference.

“The first thing I was concerned about was my previous experiences in Arkansas in November have not been pleasant,” Freeze said. “The two times we went there when I was at Ole Miss the weather was atrocious.”

When Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss, he went 1-2 when visiting the Razorbacks.

Last fall, under nicer weather conditions, Freeze and the Liberty Flames marched into Razorback Stadium and escaped with a 21-19 win. It was Freeze’s first win in Fayetteville since 2012.

Fortunately for Auburn, Saturday afternoon’s matchup against Arkansas is set to be played in weather that’s at least somewhat comfortable. It’s forecasted to be 60 degrees come the game’s 3 p.m. kickoff.

And while that answers one question ahead of the game, here are three others to watch for as the Auburn Tigers (5-4, 2-4 SEC) visit the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-16, 1-5 SEC).

How will Payton Thorne perform in a true SEC away game?

Alright, let’s be honest: Last week did not count as a SEC away game.

Auburn fans turned Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium into a northern extension of Jordan-Hare Stadium last week in an unbelievable showing in Nashville.

That said, we’ve yet to see Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne look sharp in a SEC ballgame that didn’t feature an Auburn-friendly crowd.

Auburn’s first conference road test came in Week 4, when the Tigers traveled to Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M. In that game, Thorne went 6-for-12 through the air for just 44 yards, while the Auburn offense neglected to find the end zone at all that afternoon.

In the Tigers’ next conference road game, they took to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers. There, Thorne went 12-for-23 for 102 yards, but never could connect with anyone for a touchdown pass.

“I believe Payton’s skillsets are the most prepared for what we’re doing,” Freeze said Monday. “It’s not a negative towards anybody else, I think he’s — you talk about playing with tempo, setting our protections, throwing accuracy with footballs and understanding coverages, I think that he’s the farthest along in that.”

Considering Arkansas is coming in with a lot of momentum at its back after beating the Florida Gators on the road in overtime last week, in addition to the Razorbacks trying to make up some ground in terms of reaching bowl eligibility, Razorback Stadium likely won’t be a friendly place to Thorne and Co. on Saturday afternoon.

Can Jarquez Hunter keep his tear alive?

Since the Ole Miss game on Oct. 21, Auburn junior running back Jarquez Hunter has been stacking strong performances.

Against the Rebels, Hunter rushed for 91 yards — his biggest night of the season to that point. Hunter also recorded his first multi-touchdown game against Ole Miss as he found the end zone twice.

And since then, Hunter has been able to one-up himself as the season has continued to unfold.

After the game against Ole Miss, Hunter strung together a 144-yard performance against Mississippi State.

The next week, Hunter tallied 183 yards against Vanderbilt, which featured a pair of touchdown rushes that were longer than 50 yards each.

Freeze has since chalked up Hunter’s recent success to him being more patient and waiting for runs to develop.

“I do think that’s why he’s having more explosive runs the last few weeks,” Freeze said. “It took him a while, now. I remember (at) California, this guy was wide open and nothing was developing in front of him. We’ve constantly progressed and he’s being real patient right now.”

The Arkansas defense sits squarely in the middle of the SEC in terms of rush defense as the Razorbacks have given up an average of 129.44 rushing yards per game and just seven rushing touchdowns. By comparison, Auburn’s defense ranks 12th in the league and has given up 154.22 rushing yards per game and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

How ready will Auburn’s defense be for the questionable Arkansas offense?

The Arkansas Razorbacks’ offense is one big question mark.

The same Razorbacks team that managed just three points in a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 21 put up 39 points against Florida in The Swamp last weekend.

And the only major change that’s happened between now and then is the firing of former offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who was given the axe after Arkansas’ abysmal showing against Mississippi State. Since then, wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton has taken over the play sheet for the Razorbacks.

“I think it’s pretty clear they were frustrated with what they were doing and I think it’s a pretty stark difference,” Freeze said when asked about the difference in Arkansas’ offense since Enos was fired. “I think it’s a pretty good bet that you throw a lot of the film out unless you’re just looking at personnel and probably need to pull a few games from last year in my opinion and what they did at Florida.”

Arkansas rushed 226 yards — the most is has all season — against Florida.

Running back Raheim Sanders led the charge with 103 rushing yards, while senior quarterback KJ Jefferson was hot on his heels with 92 net yards and a rushing touchdown. Jefferson rushed for a pair of touchdowns against the Tigers last fall in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“From last year, I remember him being so big and being able to push the ball downfield,” Auburn senior defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett said of Jefferson. “He’s been good for Arkansas so far, so I can’t wait to go up against him (and) see what he has for us this year.”