Like the old car you kept for maybe a year too long hoping it would start on a cold Monday morning, Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze made the decision to accompany its battle-tested quarterback Payton Thorne once again on Saturday.

Few of the decisions made during this troubled campaign by Coach Freeze have been justified, but in the Auburn Tigers win 48-14 against ULMThorne repaired by pass five scores.

Of course, for much of the preparation leading up to Saturday, Freeze had flirted with the idea of ​​exploring his future options under center, but Thorne, even on a busted shoulder, was his preferred option.

For all the bile that Freeze has often showered on Thorne this season, perhaps the grudging respect has finally grown to a point where rewarding his quarterback’s tenacity and desire to come out on his shield was fully deserved.

Thorne will likely pursue a different career path once the final two games of his college career are over, but his hunger to get on the field for an encore is entirely commendable.

“Decent time attendance in the training room,” Thorne explained the details of returning there. “I’ve had to do this several times this year. Being efficient with my time, making sure I’m in and out as quickly as possible while still getting the work I need my body done, and then watching a movie.

“It’s not something I’ve ever done before, so I’m just following this program for a week. Obviously arm throwing is a little different. I’m trying to be as close to 100 for hundred as possible on Saturday.”

As the old guard like Thorne and star running back Jarquez Hunter prepare to leave the scene, the possible future, quarterback Deuce Knight, sitting in the stands.

More immediate dividends will and are being extracted from the much-heralded group of wide receivers that Freeze has conjured to play some pretty exciting ball on the Plains.

Standout freshman Cam Coleman is undoubtedly still raw, but he has that skill set that makes you salivate, especially after an outrageous one-handed throw for a touchdown.

In total, Coleman visited the end zone three times yesterday. He has a lot to learn before he takes the leap to become an elite-level receiver at Auburn, but his quarterback thinks he’ll definitely get there.

“He did a really good job today. He only needed one hand, so that was nice,” Thorne enthused about Coleman’s performance. “He’s a great athlete and he’s fun to play with. These young guys have a long career ahead of them. I’m sure he’ll continue to work. That’s all he does, so more in addition to these games will appear for him.

If the Tigers hadn’t won in such impressive fashion, there’s no doubt the pressure would have been on Freeze and his young team heading into back-to-back games against Texas A&M and Alabama, especially with shaky bowl eligibility on the line.

Therefore, setting the table was the maintaining position of an absolute necessity, but the Hunter, new 1,000 yard runner knows how much greater the challenges of the next two weeks will be for everyone involved.

“It’s always better to feel a victory than a defeat,” Hunter insisted after the match. “I feel like it gives us momentum going into the next two wins to finish the season and make us bowl eligible.”

Especially for the often under fire Coach Freeze, this was simply a classic case where the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, but getting an unlikely appearance in a bowl is a completely different matter. And Freeze thinks Thorne is still Auburn’s best chance.