How a speech from Cadillac Williams motivated Auburn football to beat Mississippi State

AUBURN — It's been nearly a year since Cadillac Williams took over as Auburn football's interim coach and began one of the most memorable months in the program's history.

Williams, who was in charge of the Tigers for 27 days between the firing of Bryan Harsin and the hiring of coach Hugh Freeze, was given five days to prepare his team for its first game under his watch: A road matchup with Mississippi State.

The Tigers started slow versus the Bulldogs before rallying from down 18 points to force overtime, demonstrating to the Auburn faithful that the team wasn't ready to roll over. Williams instantly became the face of a program's revival, and he led the Tigers to a 2-2 record.

But the job wasn't accomplished against Mississippi State. As much as the loss felt like a win at the time, the Bulldogs were the ones who scored a walk-off touchdown and left Davis Wade Stadium with a victory.

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Williams got his revenge 357 days later, as he was the one to fire the Tigers up with a pregame speech ahead of their 27-13 win over Mississippi State on Saturday. Auburn's offense wasn't perfect, but it finally came alive and posted a season-high output in points against SEC competition.

"Cadillac did a great job of giving them a pregame talk," Freeze said after earning his first SEC win in nearly seven years. "I thought his message was received very well by them."

Williams reached back to that overtime loss to Mississippi State as inspiration.

"It was kind of really a nostalgic thing, to be honest," junior linebacker Eugene Asante said when asked what the speech was about. "I was like, 'Oh. This is giving flashbacks of last year.' But it was a really good thing. I think coach Freeze did a really good job in terms of letting Cadillac come up there and incorporate his philosophy to the team.

"He just tried to tell us to lean on our brothers, and understand that. Take pride in going out there and executing for the brother to your left and your right. It was like 'we're flashing back to last year,' so it was a big thing and I enjoyed it."

Auburn's roster has turned over since Freeze arrived, and many of the key players from last season's run with Williams have either moved on to the NFL or entered the transfer portal for a fresh start.

But those that remain were moved by Williams' speech.

"It brought me to the time to Mississippi State when he took over the job last year," linebacker Cam Riley said. "He was just telling us to play for each other, play for the seniors that we have. Just play for each other, for our brothers."

Even those who weren't around to experience Williams' month in charge were inspired.

"Playing for the seniors," freshman Connor Lew, who made his first start Saturday in place of an injured Avery Jones, said of the pregame speech. "This is the last time that they're going to play Mississippi State in their college career. ... Playing for them and helping them get their win."

Nearly a year after coming so close, Williams helped Auburn get a much-needed win over Mississippi State this time around.

"Coach 'Lac is awesome. I love that guy," quarterback Payton Thorne said. "When he speaks, everyone listens. He's a guy with a lot of credibility here and also just in his career in general. When he speaks he has something about him.

"There's people that you just know — 'I should listen to this guy and what he has to say.' ... (His speech) hit home with our guys, and we went out and acted on it."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: How a Cadillac Williams speech inspired Auburn vs. Mississippi State