Auburn became the latest Power 4 college football program to move on from their head coach last week when they fired Hugh Freeze after two-and-a-half seasons. Freeze was fired after the Tigers fell 10-3 to Kentucky, managing just three points against one of the worst teams in the SEC.
In their first game under interim coach D.J. Durkin—less than a week after the firing—Auburn responded. They went toe-to-toe with No. 15 Vanderbilt, scoring 38 points before ultimately losing 45-38 in overtime. Quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns—over 100 yards more than a Tigers quarterback had thrown for in a game this season—as the offense racked up a season-high 563 yards.
While the defense was unable to slow down Vanderbilt and quarterback Diego Pavia—who threw for 377 yards, rushed for 112 yards and scored four total touchdowns—Durkin was proud of how his team performed even as they fell short of an upset win.
“I just want to say, those kids,” Durkin said, before pausing briefly. He continued, “It was a lot on them that week. We challenged him and they responded. This is Auburn. We didn’t come here to get close or make the game closer or fight to the end. We came here to win championships and that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re building a program to win championships and that’s the first step. ... There’s some character in that room.”
This is Auburn 🦅
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 9, 2025
Played for each other.
Gave everything for Auburn.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/BudwqxpJan
Durkin continued, “Every coach in the country is calling this team, trying to drag them to the portal and go in other directions and those guys—they stuck together for one run. No moral victories, no nothing, we’re not happy about it. We’re gonna win these games, though. You gotta take steps and that’s what we’re gonna do. They competed for another and fought til the end, the other team just made more plays than we did, credit to them.”
Durkin extended that same passion while speaking to his team in the locker room. He became emotional while telling his players, “Throughout your entire life, people will tell you what you can’t do, what you won’t do. ... You guys had a lot of distractions going on this week and you came together and you fought your a— off on the road against a top-20 team and you took it to overtime. ... We battled our a— off, we’re going to take the next step because we’re moving on.”
"Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can't do in life, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭."
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 9, 2025
🗣️ @CoachDurkin#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/HOLGAWOjGi
Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk said of Durkin, “He brought life to the team.”
While Durkin and the Tigers certainly aren’t satisfied with just a close loss, they will look to transform this performance into wins over their final two games of the season against Mercer and Alabama.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Auburn Interim Coach Had Powerful Message After Falling Short to Vanderbilt in OT Loss.
