Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze laughed and acted stumped when a reporter asked him about the Auburn offense’s recent “renaissance.”

“That’s a big word,” Freeze joked.

But it’s a fitting word meaning “a revival or renewed interest in something.”

Certainly, Auburn’s offense appears revived after sputtering along to start the season. And certainly, more and more people have been talking about what Freeze and the Tigers are doing on offense after their two recent showings against Vanderbilt and Arkansas.

“It is really good just to see our kids play with confidence. I don’t think you can be very good at anything if you don’t have some confidence in what you’re doing,” Freeze said Monday. “And you know, they seem to be a confident group right now that’s excited about another opportunity.”

However, confidence is fleeting – or at least it can be.

But it’s the mentality of having another opportunity that’s kept Auburn’s junior Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne’s confidence high and his head above the waves, even when they’re at their choppiest.

In each of Auburn’s last two games, Thorne has tossed early interceptions – one being a short Pick 6 against Vanderbilt.

And because Auburn junior defensive back Keionte Scott knows throwing those interceptions early in a game can be demoralizing and can lead to a snowball effect of negativity, he’s always quick to approach Thorne afterwards to be sure his attitude is in check.

“Yeah, always try to come up to him and he’s already on that,” Scott said. “So I don’t even have to mention it to him.”

When Freeze arrived to The Plains, he brought with him a “FAMILY” acronym.

Freeze was looking for faith, attitude, mental toughness, integrity, love and each individual player – or “you” – to establish the foundation of the rebuild he was taking over on The Plains.

And the ‘M’ part of that acronym has been tested this season – especially if your last name is Thorne.

But Thorne – especially recently – has proved to have mental toughness and has illustrated a “next-play mentality” when things go awry a bit during games.

“Quarterbacks, they better have that,” Freeze said. “He does have it, and he’s able to handle me, lets me rant a little bit without it destroying him.”

It goes without saying, but Thorne hasn’t been perfect this season.

Through 10 games, Thorne has passed for 1,432 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Surely, Thorne’s touchdown-to-interception ratio isn’t where he or Freeze wants it. So there have been plenty of coaching opportunities on the sidelines.

“I think it’s obviously glaring when he’s made a mistake at quarterback. But one of the reasons I think he handles it is because, the few mistakes he’s made, he knows better. I guess that’s why it upsets me sometimes,” Freeze said. “But man, he’s a no-excuse guy, play the next play. It shows.”

When Thorne threw that Pick 6 against Vanderbilt, it was ugly looking. It appeared as though he tossed it right into the arms of the Commodores’ defender, who had a short and clear path to the end zone.

“I just didn’t see him,” Thorne said after the fact. “Threw it out there thinking that Rivaldo (Fairweather) was wide open. Obviously he was not, so I gotta be better there.”

On the television broadcast, announcers commented that they thought the sun being in Thorne’s eyes might be to blame, making for an easy alibi.

But Thorne isn’t interested in alibis.

When asked about the sun being in his eyes, Thorne simply shook his head and assured that wasn’t the case.

“The sun is a lot worse at practice than at the game,” Thorne said.

Despite having thrown an interception in each of his last games, Thorne – and the rest of the Auburn offense – seem to be finding their stride at the most opportune time as a date with the team from Tuscaloosa looms large.

And needless to say, both against New Mexico State this week and Alabama next week, Thorne won’t be looking back on the interception he threw against Vanderbilt or the one he threw against Arkansas.

Thorne doesn’t do much looking in the rearview mirror. There isn’t time to do that.

“I mean, it is always a cliche thing to say he is focused on the next play because the last one, he can’t get back anyways,” said Auburn tight end Tyler Fromm. “You don’t want to see a guy (griping) on a mistake he made 20 plays ago when he can’t do anything about it. So it’s always good to see a quarterback, a leader like him move on and take the team with him.”