Over the bye week, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze identified the cause of Chaplin's recent struggles. “We’ve done some testing on (Chaplin's) hearing, and there’s an issue there," Freeze said Monday during his weekly press conference.

Auburn went into its bye week off back-to-back losses, both by one score. The Tigers are a hair away from having a very different outlook on the season, and coach Hugh Freeze knows it. He also knows it’s on him. Freeze made no bones about that after reconvening from the bye week.

Given a third season after back-to-back losing campaigns and with his best roster in his tenure, Hugh Freeze continues to fall short of high expectations.

After back-to-back SEC losses, Hugh Freeze’s seat at Auburn is “pretty hot,” On3 college football reporter and podcaster Andy Staples said Monday. Staples, a former Florida offensive lineman who covered college football for Sports Illustrated and The Athletic before joining On3 two years ago,