Auburn first-year head coach Hugh Freeze said Thursday that he felt that his team played too tight at times – too scared of making mistakes.

“I want to do everything I can to remove the fog and the fear. Fear is just a liar and it’s really not real unless you give it power,” Freeze said during his time on Auburn’s Tiger Talk radio show Thursday night. “And I want us to play really free and loose.”

And while Freeze’s message could surely be applied to his entire roster, given the Tigers’ struggles on the offensive side of the football, it was likely pointed at Auburn’s offense – and especially Auburn’s quarterback room.

After a season of spitting and sputtering, Auburn’s offense had yet to have a true breakthrough against a quality opponent. And Freeze chalked some of that up to the “foggy conditions” that came with the Tigers’ stretch of playing three consecutive opponents now ranked inside the top 15.

Freeze’s wish was that as Auburn approached its more favorable stretch of games, the Tigers’ offense would loosen up and play with less fear of making mistakes.

Wish granted, coach.

In Saturday’s 27-13 win over Mississippi State, the Auburn offense spit out more production than it had since the Tigers’ win over Samford on Sept. 16, while junior Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne pieced together his best performance of the season against a Power 5 opponent.

All season long, Auburn had been using a funky two-quarterback rotation between Thorne and Robby Ashford as the Tigers searched for answers on offense.

Finally fed up with it, Freeze said it was time to “put up or shut up” against Mississippi State and handed the reins over to Thorne for – essentially – the entirety of the game.

“I thought both showed signs this week, in practice, of improvement,” Freeze said of Thorne and Ashford. “But, you know, (Thorne) just started hot, and I felt good about our plan. We had a little plan for Robby, too, and just never really got to it.”

Thorne passed for 230 yards in a 20-for-26 passing effort in Saturday’s win, while also tossing three touchdowns – becoming the first Auburn quarterback to tally a trio of passing touchdowns against a SEC opponent since Bo Nix against LSU in 2020.

Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery dialed up an up-tempo game plan for Saturday night – an approach Freeze has previously said that himself, Montgomery and Thorne all seem more comfortable with.

“I thought it was very important,” Thorne said of rolling with tempo. “Coach emphasized it all week and I thought our guys did a good job of getting the ball back in to the ref and letting him spot it and rolling again. The o-line did a good job of picking up what they were bringing too. I thought it was a big part of what we were doing.”

Despite Auburn’s leading 24-3 at halftime, the Tigers only managed a field goal in the second half, while Mississippi State scored 10 second-half points, including its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs outgained the Tigers 223 yards to 115 yards in the second half.

“We did some not-so-good things in the second half. Some of it was them. They really made an adjustment at halftime,” Freeze said. “It made it hard to run the ball. And, of course, you’re trying to milk the clock a little bit when you’re up two or three scores.”

Milking the clock isn’t something Auburn has had the luxury of even thinking about since the win over Samford.

And it still wouldn’t have been on Freeze’s mind if not for the big first half from Thorne and the Auburn offense – which according to tight end Rivaldo Fairweather looked like they do day-in and day-out in practice.

“We really do look amazing in practice,” Fairweather said. “And finally we get to see our quarterback be comfortable in there and sling it around, making the right checks, making the right throws, making the right reads.”

Thorne being comfortable and confident has been a bit of a rarity this fall.

Five days after Auburn lost to Texas A&M, which featured an abysmal showing from Thorne, Freeze said during the SEC coaches’ teleconference that it was up to he and the Tigers’ coaching staff to help repair the transfer quarterback’s confidence.

And that’s been a work in progress all season as offensive struggles have continued, as well as the Tigers’ two-quarterback rotation, leaving Thorne uncertain what his role will be on any given Saturday.

Even ahead of Saturday’s game against Mississippi State, Thorne said he wasn’t 100% certain he’d be Auburn’s main guy under center.

But once Thorne checked into the game as Auburn’s starter, the consistency of the gameplan helped, Thorne says.

“I would say so,” Thorne responded when asked if staying in the game helped him build rhythm. “I was out there more than normal and just rolling with our tempo and rolling with whatever guys are out there.”

And Thorne not only capitalized on the opportunity, but he had fun with it. He played free and loose, just like Freeze wanted.

“It was fun out there,” Thorne said. “It was fun getting to throw it around and play with our guys and execute the game plan. It was fun.”

Meanwhile, Fairweather knew it was just a matter of time until Thorne and the Auburn offense had its moment.

“That’s the Payton I been knew since I got here,” Fairweather said. “We’re going to continue to see that Payton.”