Auburn left Saturday’s 24-14 loss to Arkansas win more questions than answers at quarterback.

Redshirt freshman Hank Brown started the game but was benched at halftime for Payton Thorne. That came after Thorne was benched following Auburn’s 21-14 loss to Cal in Week 2.

Now, both Thorne and Brown have played four halves of football this season, and Hugh Freeze has a decision to make regarding who the starter is going to be for this week’s matchup with Oklahoma and beyond.

“It’s going to be a battle this week,” Freeze said at his Monday press conference. “Try to figure out who can master the plan against all these fronts we’re going to face at Oklahoma.”

Through four games, the sample size for Brown and Thorne is similar, but Thorne has still thrown 27 more passes. The biggest issue for both players, though, is turnovers.

Thorne’s benching came after he threw four interceptions against Cal in a loss where Auburn had five total turnovers. Brown’s Southeastern Conference debut against Arkansas was similar, throwing three interceptions in the first half before being replaced by Thorne.

“What really went into that decision was that I experienced that two weeks earlier and I wasn’t going to continue down that road,” Freeze said. “It has nothing to do with my confidence in Hank.”

When speaking with reporters Monday, Freeze said he hadn’t yet met with the quarterbacks. He said he wanted to go over the turnovers with them to analyze whether he and his staff did an “adequate job of preparing them for that given play or if it’s just something they saw or just a poor decision.”

Freeze has maintained throughout the season that he believes the play calling and offensive gameplan hasn’t been the issue and the turnovers have been mostly due to poor execution by the players.

“Unfortunately, this is what I know and I know that there’s people open and I know that we’re running the football. We’ve got to find a guy that won’t throw it to the other team,” Freeze said after the Arkansas game.

Thorne put together a solid performance in the second half against Arkansas after replacing Brown. He was Auburn’s highest-graded offensive player, according to Pro Football Focus, in the game and threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-22 passing.

He had one interception, but it was on a pass that came off wide receiver Cam Coleman’s hands before being caught by an Arkansas defensive back.

Freeze even mentioned third-string quarterback Holden Geriner when talking about solutions at quarterback, but he still expects the starting job to be competed for primarily between Thorne and Brown.

As Auburn enters the hardest part of its schedule, it faces a critical dilemma.

Does Freeze stick it out with the veteran that he already benched once, or does he put his trust back in the redshirt freshman who struggled in his first test against SEC competition?

Through four games, both have shown their flaws, but both have shown positive signs too. The decision Freeze makes this week could decide the direction of the offense for the rest of regular season as the Tigers prepare for a series of tests tougher than any they’ve faced so far.

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