Hugh Freeze’s past offenses by the numbers
Auburn’s last two coaches’ downfall was their offenses no longer met expectations.
For Gus Malzahn that meant they slipped from where they were early in his tenure. Bryan Harsin was never able to establish an effective offense.
Hugh Freeze was hired to change that, and he has had success in the SEC with his offensive scheme. He has used it to beat Nick Saban multiple times, something not many coaches can say.
His offense is based around a dangerous passing attack and developing quarterbacks, something that has Robby Ashford excited to work with his new coach.
This will mark a change in Auburn’s past offenses, which were based around a ground attack that opened holes in the defense the passing game could then exploit.
Here is a look at Freeze’s offenses at Arkansas State (2011), Ole Miss 2012-16), and Liberty (2019-22) by the numbers and how they rank compared to the rest of their peers.
2011: Arkansas State
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 32.5 | 1 |
Total offense | 448.7 | 1 |
Yards per play | 5.73 | 2 |
Rushing yards per game | 154.23 | 2 |
Rushing yards per carry | 3.89 | 5 |
Passing yards per game | 293.6 | 1 |
Yards per attempt | 7.6 | 2 |
Completion % | 65.2% | 1 |
3rd down conversion % | 42.08% | 2 |
Red zone TD % | 56.06% | 5 |
2012: Ole Miss
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 31.5 | 5 |
Total offense | 423.8 | 5 |
Yards per play | 5.73 | 7 |
Rushing yards per game | 174 | 5 |
Yards per carry | 4.09 | 10 |
Passing yards per game | 249.8 | 5 |
Yards per attempt | 7.9 | 5 |
Completion % | 63.3 | 5 |
3rd down conversion % | 44.28% | 4 |
Red zone TD % | 66.67% | 4 |
2013: Ole Miss
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 30 | 9 |
Total Offense | 423.8 | 5 |
Yards per play | 5.73 | 7 |
Rushing Yards per game | 190 | 7 |
Yards per carry | 4.68 | 10 |
Passing Yards per game | 283.3 | 3 |
Yards per attempt | 7.5 | 9 |
Completion % | 63.3% | 6 |
3rd down conversion % | 45.69% | 5 |
Red zone TD % | 52.17% | 13 |
2014: Ole Miss
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 28.3 | 11 |
Total offense | 419.1 | 7 |
Yards per play | 6.03 | 7 |
Rushing yards per game | 155.46 | 10 |
Yards per carry | 4.25 | 11 |
Passing yards per game | 263.6 | 5 |
Yards per attempt | 8 | 5 |
Completion % | 60.3% | 7 |
3rd down conversion % | 39.34% | 10 |
Red zone TD % | 56.1% | 11 |
2015: Ole Miss
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 40.8 | 1 |
Total offense | 517.8 | 1 |
Yards per play | 7.07 | 1 |
Rushing yards per game | 183.08 | 7 |
Yards per carry | 5.14 | 2 |
Passing Yards per game | 334.7 | 1 |
Yards per attempt | 8.9 | 2 |
Completion % | 65% | 4 |
3rd down conversion % | 41.41% | 5 |
Red zone TD % | 59.68 | 5 |
2016: Ole Miss
Category | Stat | Conference Rank |
Points per game | 32.6 | 4 |
Total offense | 464.3 | 3 |
Yards per play | 6.16 | 7 |
Rushing yards per game | 149.42 | 12 |
Yards per carry | 4.25 | 11 |
Passing yards per game | 314.9 | 1 |
Yards per attempt | 7.8 | 4 |
Completion % | 59.8% | 6 |
3rd down conversion % | 40.24% | 9 |
Red zone TD % | 54.39% | 13 |
2019: Liberty
Category | Stat | National Rank |
Points per game | 32.8 | 34 |
Total offense | 439.4 | 32 |
Yards per play | 6.44 | 18 |
Rushing yards per game | 150.46 | 78 |
Yards per carry | 4.5 | 59 |
Passing yards per game | 288.9 | 21 |
Yards per attempt | 8.3 | 24 |
Completion % | 56.9% | 92 |
3rd down conversion % | 40.72% | 58 |
Red zone TD % | 69.64% | 26 |
2020: Liberty
Category | Stat | National Rank |
Points per game | 38.2 | 16 |
Total offense | 482.7 | 15 |
Yards per play | 6.71 | 13 |
Rushing yards per game | 252.36 | 9 |
Yards per carry | 5.74 | 7 |
Passing yards per game | 230.4 | 62 |
Yards per attempt | 8.3 | 26 |
Completion % | 62.9% | 39 |
3rd down conversion % | 48.3% | 13 |
Red zone TD % | 58.93% | 82 |
2021: Liberty
Category | Stat | National Rank |
Points per game | 33.6 | 25 |
Total offense | 436.2 | 35 |
Yards per play | 6.38 | 24 |
Rushing yards per game | 181.23 | 45 |
Yards per carry | 4.64 | 48 |
Passing yards per game | 255 | 43 |
Yards per attempt | 8.7 | 15 |
Completion % | 59.3% | 82 |
3rd down conversion % | 42.86% | 41 |
Red zone TD % | 71.11% | 11 |
2022: Liberty
Category | Stat | National Rank |
Points per game | 28.3 | 68 |
Total offense | 400.5 | 59 |
Yards per play | 5.67 | 67 |
Rushing yards per game | 178.5 | 48 |
Yards per carry | 4.53 | 52 |
Passing yards per game | 220 | 77 |
Yards per attempt | 7.1 | 76 |
Completion % | 57.9% | 94 |
3rd down conversion % | 37.13% | 85 |
Red zone TD % | 62.22% | 64 |
