Auburn was finally going to do it.

Up 17-6, Auburn had first-and-goal at the 10-yard line and was finally going to pull away and earn a Southeastern Conference win.

After a pass play over the middle gave the Tigers that first down, Hugh Freeze put the ball back into Payton Thorne’s hands. This time, it was for the killshot.

Thorne dropped back and lofted a perfectly-placed ball into the hands of Robert Lewis in the back corner of the endzone.

The only issue? Lewis couldn’t keep the ball in his hands.

No big deal, right? It was just a first down incompletion and surely Auburn’s success running the ball on that drive would continue and the Tigers could muscle their way into the endzone.

The next play Thorne was sacked, giving Auburn a near impossible task on third-and-long, but still setting up a relatively easy field goal. Auburn then missed that field goal and after some wounded heroics by Missouri quarterback Brady Cook, Auburn left Faurot Field with its fourth consecutive loss.

“We had a really good drive in the third quarter and truthfully it‘s a touchdown and the game’s over. And we have to make that play,” Freeze said Monday of Lewis’ drop.

It was a point in the game where Auburn took its shot, and unfortunately it blew up in Freeze and the offensive staff’s faces.

Freeze said after the game that he wishes he took more shots against Missouri and followed that statement up Monday by saying the team is still playing “not to lose” instead of to win.

“Truthfully, we probably are coaching that way some, too,” he continued.

“I feel the pressure of those calls, of not being free to do what I‘ve done for years and ’oh man, we could screw this up or we could not execute this correctly,‘“ Freeze said. ”Those are all feelings that are real and legitimate and probably have an effect on us not finishing games really well.”

The biggest balance Freeze said he was trying to strike was between taking shots down the field while still consistently giving the ball to Jarquez Hunter, who he called the offense’s best player.

Hunter tied his season high in touches against Missouri with 21, but was largely ineffective running the ball, only averaging three yards per carry.

Auburn was conservative against Missouri. Thorne’s average depth of target was 7.2 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, his lowest in a game this season.

The biggest outlier was his 47-yard touchdown pass on a deep shot to Cam Coleman, but Auburn’s gameplan against Missouri featured fewer long passing plays than other games.

“We haven’t always taken care of the ball or protected when I feel free and loose. All of those things are on your mind,” Freeze said.

For context, Thorne’s highest average depth of target versus a Power 4 opponent came against Cal, a game where Thorne threw four interceptions.

It seems evident from Freeze‘s comments Monday that there’s a sense of desperation to break the losing streak that keeps the team and staff from being as loose as they want to be.

“Do I just be free and loose like most of my life in coaching has been?” Freeze pondered out loud to the assembled reporters. “Or, ‘we’re so desperate to win one of these games and our kids deserve it. Don‘t do anything that’s going to put them in jeopardy of doing that.’

“I don‘t mind the pressure. I don’t mind any of that,” Freeze added. “I just want to do the right thing for the kids at the right moment. And I think it comes down to we’ve got to gain some confidence in each other.”

Whether it‘s due to being too aggressive or too passive, Auburn hasn‘t found the formula yet for finishing games. In each of Auburn’s losses, the reasons have varied from game to game.

Questionable play calls, mistakes, turnovers and other errors have all plagued Auburn at different times through its 2-5 start.

“We’re at a point in the year where we as coaches should have that fixed,” Freeze said of the execution.

Next for Freeze and Auburn is a trip to Kentucky. A matchup with a team facing similar struggles awaits the Tigers, a team of young players trying to earn its first Power 4 win of the season.

The Wildcats boast the 11th-best total defense in the country, but after matchups with Missouri and Georgia who both rank in the top 20, it’s not necessarily a new challenge for Auburn.

With Freeze at risk of just his second losing regular season as a head coach, though, the bigger challenge appears to be a mental one.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m