Auburn vs. Florida 2007

Best Dubstep Ever [Orgasmic Vibrations]

Game Recap: Auburn vs Arkansas State

		1	2	3	4		T
ARST		3	0	6	0		9
AUB		14	7	7	10		38

Nick Marshall

I'd said last week that I thought Nick Marshall needed to improve. That's exactly what I saw from him in the Arkansas State game. He finished the day 10 for 17 with 147 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added 53 yards on the ground. There must be more improvement from him this week as he starts SEC play against Mississippi State.

Running Back University

There has always been good running backs at Auburn. This season is no different. Between Mason, Payne, and Grant, Auburn may have the best trio of RBs in the entire league. Auburn has almost always been a run first team, and nothing has changed with Malzahn's Hurry-Up-No-Huddle offense.

RUSHING	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
C. Grant	16	186	11.6	2
T. Mason	29	172	5.9	2

 The Defense

There are some issues with the defense. They seem to play with a bend but don't break philosophy. I don't believe the kind of defense they've played will work over the course of the season. There are some bright spots in what has been an overall mediocre defense. I believe it will improve and it will have to in order to beat the better SEC teams.

Game Recap: Auburn vs Washington St

Auburn - 31
Washington St. - 24


Washington State was a perfect first opponent. The question marks surrounding this Auburn team was in their pass defense. I figured a Mike Leach led offense would pass at a 80/20 ratio. We needed to know whether or not we could stop a pass heavy team, and for the most part we did. It exceeded my expectations. There was no reason in the world for me not to expect a game that both teams didn't score in the forties. The Auburn defense was much better than I expected and they were put under extra pressure by their own offense.

I was not sold on Nick Marshall at quarterback. He was constantly overthrowing receivers. It was his first game and I'm sure he was nervous. He never looked comfortable passing. When he ran the football he looked right at home. It was easy to see that Marshall has a run first mentality. There is little doubt that Malzahn will work with him on his passing. I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't visible improvements in the next game against Arkansas St. Even with a run first approach we'll need more than 100 yards a game passing to win SEC games.

	WSU	AUB
1st Downs	28	16
Total Yards	464	394
Passing	344	99
Rushing	120	295
Penalties	5-21	5-30
3rd Down Conversions	7-17	4-14
4th Down Conversions	2-4	0-0
Turnovers	3	1
Possession	31:27	28:33

Auburn was out gained in total yards 464 to 394. In a close game that could have went either way the three turnovers made all the difference for Auburn. The next game against Arkansas State will tell more of the story. They're a more balanced team and should be able to test us a little more.

Six Days Until Game Time!

Washington State and Mike Leach Bring "Air Raid" Offense to Jordan-Hare

Spread Offense - Downhill Running Game & Great Defense/Coverage keys to Winning

     For what it's worth this will be a pace-setting game for the Tigers. This game will set the tone for the rest of the season and show just how much progress the team has made since Gene Chizik was let go last December and Gus Malzahn returned "home." That feeling is rolling around and I for one am anxious to yell, "WAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR EAGLE! HEY!!"

 Air Raid Offense

     For those who are thinking this game will be a walk in the park think again. Mike Leach, much like Gus Malzahn, is an innovator in the offensive style and the creator as it were of the Air Raid Offense. Leach had quarterbacks with three consecutive years of 3,000+ passing yards and receivers that easily had 1,200+ receiving yards if not two. The offense works by spreading out the defense with multiple WR Sets (sound familiar?) with multiple reads by the quarterback. This allows for massive amounts of yards at a time [chunks] while also keep defenses honest and exploiting cover weaknesses. You may remember that Mike Leach's teams would score a lot of points and his players would have a lot of yards but they also played a sound defense. I for one am not expecting to be upset but I wouldn't bolster expectations too high and think it will be a walk in the park for our Tigers.

The video below shows Mike Leach going over the Air Raid Offense...

Gus Malzahn and the Refreshed Tigers

     Anyone who hasn't heard, Gus Malzahn and the Tigers are back! Well, perhaps not officially back but their swagger and bite seems to be back. Much like Chizik before him Malzahn has assembled a world class staff with some of the best assistant coaches and recruiters in the country. We have Rhett Lashlee who's been with Malzahn since High School and pretty much knows the offense inside and out. Dameyune Craig, a former Auburn standout QB and dual threat man who coaches the WR and is a recruiting legend. Ellis Johnson with the 4-2-5 and is a defensive guru with stops at South Carolina, Bama, and Miss among others. Charlie Harbin has been coaching for years and handles the DBs. Tim Horton is an old pro with RBs and handles them and the list goes on and on. We've read about tremendous improvements on the defensive side of the ball but there is one thing that worries me....Safeties and Corner-backs. We've seen Kiehl Frazier switch over to safety (and a hulk safety he is at 6'4" and 225lbs) and have lost Senior Demetruce McNeil which is a huge blow with experience. Brandon King hasn't been making a splash lately but is looking to be the backup or third string in the DB order. With all this I hope we're prepared for some bumps because the Air Raid is no joke and Mike Leach can coach a program up with his players. This is his first year with his selected players so I look for it to be quite a fight.

Gus Malzahn going over his spread offense...

 Ellis Johnson and his defense...

Final Thoughts

     Don't come away from this believing that Auburn will surely lose as I do not believe that to be the case. All I am pointing out is that this is a real fight the first game and WSU being they are WSU shouldn't be overlooked with Mike Leach coaching them. I look to see us come out and play hard, have a few bumps and bruises [blow assignments, missed reads, dropped passes, a fumble or two, an interception or two, and missed tackles] but to ultimately win by a 14 point margin and look better on the defense than we have the past couple years. WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Is Gus Malzahn The Right Coach For Auburn?

Malzahn and Auburn

The Auburn Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks were both looking for a head coach. At some point they were both probably looking at the same guy. They were looking at a man who had found nothing but success at every stop. Gus Malzahn had a history with both schools. If both universities had wanted him, it would have seemed Arkansas would've been his next stop. He was not only born and raised there, but in 1984 he walked on to the Razorback football team. His first experience as a college football coach would also come at Arkansas in 2006.

Where had the pinnacle of his success come from? So far that would've been at Auburn in 2010. So it wasn't completely shocking that he would have chosen the Tigers over the Razorbacks. He's been at both schools and clearly he knew which of the two he'd rather be at. The last three head coaches that preceded Malzahn have all had undefeated records at Auburn. (Bowden 1993, Tuberville 2004, and Chizik 2010) It's not difficult to believe that Gus Malzahn will do so as well.

Frazier and Wallace

The hurry-up no-huddle offense that Malzahn believes in and runs was successful for Auburn in 2010. It has been successful everywhere it has been implemented. He runs a style of offense that is based on having the right athletes in place. The best thing you can say about coach Malzahn is that the players want to play for him. There are two quarterbacks at Auburn right now who are made for his offense. Mobility is key for a QB in Malzahn's offense. He has two mobile QB's right now in Kiehl Frazier and Jonathan Wallace.

The one thing that everyone says about Gus is that he's passionate about the game. Both coaches and players. His game has always been to spread them out and attack them quick. With the right players I think he will have incredible amounts of success. The system he runs has continuously won games everywhere he's gone. His attention to the smallest details allow him to win with less than the best players.



Watch the videos and notice how well he teaches these plays. I can see exactly why players want to learn from him.

I truly believe that this is what brought Auburn the National Championship in 2010. The plays are not all as simple as the two above, however I think his clean and clear approach in explaining the smallest details make the biggest difference. His players have a full understanding of how and why things works.




Success At Every Stop

Hughes (AR) HS  - Made it to the championship game in 1992 and 1994. 


Shiloh Christian (AR) HS (1996–2000) - Malzahn guided the Saints to back-to-back state championships in 1998 and 1999.

Springdale (AR) HS (2001-2005) -  Malzahn's 2005 squad at Springdale went 14–0, easily won the state’s Class 5A championship, outscoring their opponents 664–118, including a 54–20 victory over West Memphis in the championship game.

Arkansas (OC /WR) 2006 - Lost the Capital One Bowl and finished the season 10-4.

Tulsa (co-OC/AHC/QB) 2007-2008
      2007 - Tulsa ranked 1st in the nation in total yards per game
      2008 - Tulsa was again leading the nation with 7,980 total yards of offense averaging 570 yards per game.

Auburn (OC/QB) - 2010 BCS National Championship and Heisman Award winner Cam Newton.

Arkansas State (HC) 2012 - Conference Championship win over Middle Tennessee State, 45-0. Final record 9-3.

Phillip Marshall on Gus Malzahn

"Very Passionate"

 I like to think that even if you do not subscribe, this is a very nice post and expresses my view of Coach Malzahn and what he represents and what he will do for the program. Consider this a little bonus to today's events and for those without a subscription, it is worth getting if you love Auburn and not just football!


Gus Malzahn wasn't the first choice of the committee looking for Auburn's next football coach. Going in, he might not even have been the second choice.

But he was the final choice. That's what matters now. And don't try telling Chris Todd, Malzahn's first Auburn quarterback, it was anything but a good choice.
"I think Coach Malzahn will come in and do a great job," Todd said when the telephone caught him between sales calls Tuesday. "He's very dedicated to what he does, vey detail-oriented and very passionate. I think it's great."
When I asked Todd about concerns expressed by many that Malzahn won't stress discipline enough for a team that has had precious little of it, he laughed out loud.
"Coach Malzahn?" he said. "That's not ever going to be a problem. I don't think there is any question about that. He's always shown an expectation for toughness. Discipline has never been an issue. He expects a lot on and off the field. Even in practice, as far as small things like running on and off the field, he demands it be done right. That carries right on to the bigger things. He is very demanding and has very high expectations."
So there you have it from one who knows.
Auburn's search that began nine days ago finally concluded Tuesday afternoon when the committee of athletics director Jay Jacobs, Heisman Trophy winners Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson and highly successful businessman and former Auburn player Mac Crawford voted unanimously for Malzahn.
It didn't come easily.
They went into the weekend with Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher as their No. 1 choice. That didn't work out. They reached out to other prominent head coaches. How many they actually contacted, how many were interested, how interested they were is uncertain and probably will stay that way.
In the end, they chose Malzahn. And if he wins big at Auburn, it won't matter whether he was the first or last pick. If he doesn't, it won't matter if he was the first or last pick.
I can tell you what I know about Malzahn from having been around for three years:
He is very demanding of himself, his staff and his players. He is fierce competitor and extremely intelligent. And if you want to make him frown, tell him he runs a spread offense.
"The biggest thing with that offense is I think a lot of people have a misconception that he is running this spread offense and everything else," Todd said. "A lot of stuff is done out of shotgun, but it's a downhill, Power-I offense coming out of the shotgun.
"You still cater to big physical running backs people like to see in the SEC. Also, you have a really good play action passing game. That downhill running game is there. Coach Malzahn does a really good job of scheming and play-calling."
Malzahn will, no doubt, hit the ground running. There is a staff to be hired, a recruiting class to pull together and additional players to recruit. And there is a fractured team that must be made whole again.
Will he do it? Will he make Auburn a big winner? No one can know that for sure about any coach. But from what I've seen of the guy, I like his chances.