On Monday, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said he’s gotten to where he is now because of his run-pass-option offense. Through four games in with Auburn, it hasn’t worked consistently.

And his opposing head coach this week, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, sees some differences in the offense Freeze runs now compared to previous iterations at Ole Miss.

“The biggest difference, to me, is the commitment to the run,” Smart said. “They are physical. They have really good backs. They’re committed to the run in terms of running the ball with physicality. Not that he was not that way. He ran the ball when he was at Ole Miss, but he had super elite wideouts and he had the ability to beat up on people vertically with those guys. His strength right now with their unit is their physicality, their RPO game. Their quarterback is a really good athlete. He’s playing to the strengths of his offense.”

Freeze came to Auburn known for his quarterback development, but it’s the passing game that has struggled so far. Freeze has talked frequently about focusing on establishing the running game and the depth of the running back room — though that depth did take a hit with Damari Alston’s injury.

Freeze had future NFL receivers at Ole Miss like AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Laquon Treadwell, Evan Engram and Cody Core. Auburn hasn’t shown to have any pass-catching stars like those thus far.

Freeze also still owns the largest win over a Smart Georgia team with a 31-point victory in 2016 while he was still at Ole Miss.

So Smart believes that Freeze has adjusted to the personnel Auburn has. Smart was complimentary of Auburn’s offense and scheme — albeit the significant struggles it has had so far.

“He’s not trying to trick you or do anything super fancy,” Smart said. “He does a really good job of executing at a high level. They have answers for what you do. If you’re not here, they’re gonna throw it there. If your safety is down, they’re going to throw it there. They’re in their RPO game and a guy is open, they’re going to take what you give them.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]