There was little to complain about during Auburn’s 73-3 win over Alabama A&M Saturday, but that didn’t stop head coach Hugh Freeze from coaching hard.

The most visible instance came around the six-minute mark of the first quarter when Auburn was forced to punt after an incompletion on third down.

Quarterback Payton Thorne rolled to his right before throwing a high pass that came off the fingertips of wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The pass would’ve been enough for a first down had it been completed, but Freeze mentioned after the game that he missed an open spot route on the play, which was supposed to be his first progression.

After the play, the broadcast panned to Freeze visibly upset with his quarterback.

“I wish the camera wasn’t on me all the time. My wife got on me about one of those,” Freeze said during his Monday press conference. “But you know, it was a third down play that I know how critical those downs are in coming weeks, and I expect him to get those right.”

Freeze mentioned the positive side of that moment, saying he wouldn’t be as upset if he didn’t expect Thorne to make plays like that.

Statistically, Thorne had the best game of his Auburn career on Saturday. He threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns, adding 49 more yards and another score on the ground. Freeze was satisfied with Thorne’s performance overall, but did mention things that could improve.

“I was only really upset one time,” Freeze said. “He still made good throws and made a touchdown or whatever, but he didn’t get himself protected like he’s supposed to, and I don’t want him taking unnecessary hits.”

Thorne’s rushing touchdown came late in the first half and he showed a willingness to call his own number at times. As Freeze mentioned, though, he wasn’t afraid to take hits either.

Thorne responds well to the hard coaching, though, according to Freeze. Thorne has the trust of the staff to be the starting quarterback, and the tough teaching can sometimes come with that.

“I’ve made it clear I believe in him,” Freeze said. “With that, though, comes the expectation that if we’ve thoroughly discussed something, the expectation is that you get that right. He handles that fine.”