sweeping bama and ga?

[aubiefifty 18,222]

Gus Malzahn is 4-9 vs. Georgia & Alabama, but Auburn has swept both before. Can it do it again?

Josh Vitale, Montgomery Advertiser

9-11 minutes

AUBURN — Gus Malzahn has won a lot of games in seven seasons as Auburn’s head coach. Sixty, to be exact. That’s fifth-most in program history, behind only Ralph Jordan, Mike Donahue, Pat Dye and Tommy Tuberville. One of those wins came in an SEC Championship Game in 2013. He’s one of only three active SEC head coaches who has one of those.

But, for many, Auburn’s 29 losses during those seven seasons stand out more than those 60 wins. Fourteen of them in particular — five to LSU, five to Georgia and four to Alabama. Those are the three biggest rivals on the schedule every season, and Malzahn has won just six of 20 games against them.

His 2-5 mark against LSU can’t improve this season — Auburn already lost to the nation’s No. 1 team 23-20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Oct. 26. But the blue-and-orange Tigers, ranked No. 13 in the latest USA Today coaches poll, will get a shot at the other two before the season is out — they host No. 5 Georgia at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday and No. 4 Alabama two weeks after that.

Those games, with a nonconference breather against in-state FCS foe Samford in between, might make up one of the most pivotal stretches of Malzahn’s tenure at Auburn.

"It’s a very, very important game," Malzahn said of Saturday's tilt with Georgia (2:30 p.m., CBS). "Like I said, playing one of our rivals, playing at home, which I think is really good. And I just know that our players are extremely excited to have the chance to play these guys."

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"It was a real positive practice. Good to get a little extra time on these guys. Very, very, very talented team that we’re about to play." Video courtesy Auburn Athletics

The Tigers emerge from their second bye week with a 7-2 record. Both losses — the other by the score of 24-13 against current No. 12 Florida — came on the road in some of the toughest places to play in all of college football, The Swamp and Death Valley, with a true freshman quarterback in Bo Nix. They were the top-ranked two-loss team in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings released last week, coming in at No. 11.

That gives Auburn at least a puncher’s chance to challenge for the last spot in the committee’s top four next month (provided it can get some help from the teams ranked ahead of it), even though no two-loss team has ever made the field.

But that chance exists only if the Tigers can win the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and the Iron Bowl. Those games against Georgia and Alabama could potentially mean the difference between 10-2 (the third double-digit-win regular season of the Malzahn era) and 8-4 (the fifth with eight or fewer wins).

"I can’t tell you how Alabama’s gonna finish up. I can’t tell you how Georgia’s gonna finish up," junior linebacker K.J. Britt said. "We just got to control what we can control. I promise you our mindset ain’t to mess up somebody’s playoffs; our mindset is just to win the game. We let the people do what they got to do after that, but we just got to go and take the last three games and make sure our mindset is just to win the game and just let everybody, you know — let everything unfold how it’s going to unfold."

The latter could lead to a fascinating December on the Plains. Malzahn is in the second year of a seven-year, $49 million contract that carries with it a buyout of still more than $27 million, but he dealt with rampant speculation about his future with the program following a 7-5 regular season last year.

Making matters more interesting is Arkansas' decision to fire second-year head coach Chad Morris on Sunday after a dismal 4-18 start to his tenure. Malzahn wants to win at Auburn first and foremost, but many pundits have already floated his name as a potential candidate if things go sideways at Auburn, given his ties to the state (he made his name as a high school coach there) and the interest the Razorbacks had in him following the 2017 season.

"I hate it for Chad," Malzahn said of Sunday's news. "He’s a wonderful person, a wonderful coach. He’ll bounce back. There’s no doubt he’ll bounce back. Just hurting for him."

Giving Auburn confidence as it returned to the practice field Sunday is the fact that it has swept its two biggest rivals at home twice in three tries during Malzahn’s tenure — first with the Prayer at Jordan-Hare and Kick Six in 2013; then again with a dominant defense and standout run game led by eventual SEC Offensive Player of the Year Kerryon Johnson in 2017.

Those make up all four of Malzahn's wins against those teams — Auburn was swept in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, and lost to Georgia in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta following its late-season surge.

Seniors Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Javaris Davis, Jeremiah Dinson and Marquel Harrell, among others, were key contributors on the last Tigers team to beat both rivals, in 2017.

"This is why you come to the SEC, to be honest with you. We've got a tough schedule. We've got one of the toughest schedules in the country. But this is why you come to Auburn," Dinson said. "As a kid, man, you wish for games like this. Now I'm here, now I've got an opportunity to play Georgia and Alabama these last three games. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun. I'm looking forward to it."

Part of what made that November so memorable was that both the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide came to Jordan-Hare Stadium ranked No. 1 in the CFP rankings. The Tigers blew out the former 40-17 and handled the latter 26-14. Those teams ended up meeting in the national championship game in January.

This season, though, those two teams are on the outside of the current playoff picture looking in. Georgia is the SEC East favorite and still controls its own destiny, but an October home loss to a 4-6 South Carolina team looks worse by the week. Alabama came in at No. 3 in the first set of rankings, but a 46-41 home loss to LSU on Saturday puts it in a precarious position.

Both teams have flaws, too. For the Bulldogs, it’s a pedestrian offense — their defense is elite, ranking second nationally holding opponents to 10.1 points per game after a Saturday shutout of Missouri and having allowed zero rushing touchdowns through nine games this season, but third-year starting quarterback Jake Fromm and company have scored 27 or fewer points in five of their previous six games.

For the Crimson Tide, it’s a defense that has not played up to its usual high standard — the SEC-leading scoring offense still has quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a host of NFL-caliber pass-catchers, but the injury riddled group on the other side of the ball gave up 31 points to Ole Miss, 28 points to Texas A&M and 46 points to LSU.

The latter game was in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Kevin Steele’s defense held that elite, Joe Burrow-led LSU offense to just 23 points in Death Valley.

"We're a pretty good defense," Dinson said. "That's all I've got to say about that."

Auburn has its flaws, too, of course. The offense has struggled to effectively move the ball and score points at times this season, most notably in those road losses at Florida and LSU (when Nix completed just 41.9 percent of his passes and threw four interceptions), but also in a home win over Ole Miss going into last week’s bye, when it racked up 507 yards but only 20 points.

But a defense that has been one of the best in the country this season — it’s one of just six that has yet to allow more than 24 points in a game — and the fact that both games will be played in the comfortable confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium (where the offense averages 11 more points per game than it does on the road) puts the Tigers in a position where they feel as if wins over Georgia and Alabama are possible.

"We’ve been playing a lot of big opponents this whole season," Britt said. "It’s just another game, but at the same time, it’s a rivalry. We know that the margin for error is very small, and that we got to go out there and play our best game to make sure that we win the game. The urgency picks up. It’s going to pick up. Every little thing is going to matter. So we’re just going to make sure that we’re prepared and make sure that we’re ready.”

This may be the last season for a while Auburn gets the chance to do it this way, with the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry and Iron Bowl both being played in November. Next year's game against Georgia was moved up to Oct. 10 at Auburn's request, which shifted the annual date with LSU to the week before the Iron Bowl.

Can the Tigers sweep their two biggest rivals in the span of three games one more time?

"You just want to win these last three games, just leave with a bang," Dinson said. "That's why I came for another year. Just win these games and try to do it big. We've just been practicing hard this week. Whatever the outcome is on Saturday, that's the outcome. But, you know, we've just got to control this week."

Josh Vitale is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. You can follow him on Twitter at @JoshVitale. To reach him by email, click here.

[gr82b4au 5,576]

We can do it but it will take a great game plan, great execution, and very few mistakes. 

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

I refuse to believe we can't until 0:00. In November the thickest Orange and Blue glasses come out!

[Carnell 600]

With his boneheaded  game plan and playcalling.  Dont make me laugh.

[keesler 5,957]

20 minutes ago, Carnell said:

With his boneheaded  game plan and playcalling.  Dont make me laugh.

Auburn has to score 30 pts to beat those two.  They've done it 3 times this year KentSt/MSU/Arkansas.

 

 

[Zeek 16,953]

It’s possible. Gus coaches like a maniac when his job is on the line, in a good way.

[I_M4_AU 8,933]

14 minutes ago, Zeek said:

It’s possible. Gus coaches like a maniac when his job is on the line, in a good way.

This is why Gus is so endearing to many on this site.

[AuburnEagle79 2,188]

It's very possible. Think about it, all we have to do is have two good, if not just above average, days on offense. The weapons are there. Gus shows rare (very rare at times) streaks of genius on offense at least once or twice a year. We are due. There's been nothing to write home about this offense this year. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see us put up some points and beat one if not both of them. It's the Auburn thing to do.

On the other end, we could look inept like we have on offense all season, hang with both for a half before they open the flood gates, and Gus leaves for Arky, who'd kill for a 7 win season. 

Either way, Auburn is a winner. 

[keesler 5,957]

16 minutes ago, Zeek said:

It’s possible. Gus coaches like a maniac when his job is on the line, in a good way.

He didn't coach like a maniac at this exact same time last year when it was rumored AU boosters were out head hunting his replacement.  

 

[keesler 5,957]

3 minutes ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

It's very possible. Think about it, all we have to do is have two good, if not just above average, days on offense. The weapons are there. Gus shows rare (very rare at times) streaks of genius on offense at least once or twice a year. We are due. There's been nothing to write home about this offense this year. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see us put up some points and beat one if not both of them. It's the Auburn thing to do.

On the other end, we could look inept like we have on offense all season, hang with both for a half before they open the flood gates, and Gus leaves for Arky, who'd kill for a 7 win season. 

Either way, Auburn is a winner. 

I'd like to agree with you if I hadn't just watched the Ole Miss game go down to the wire in JHS  10 days ago. 

[aucanucktiger 1,889]

Stats are a funny thing, a career .400 batting average where you fail 6 times out of 10 will get you into the hall of fame. 4 - 9 vs Bama and UGa THIS decade plus a sweep of both when each was #1  is actually bloody impressive IMO. Yes, win the turnover and long-plays battles and we can beat both. 

[Carnell 600]

1 hour ago, keesler said:

Auburn has to score 30 pts to beat those two.  They've done it 3 times this year KentSt/MSU/Arkansas.

 

Not exactly georgia or alabama would you say.

 

[Glen from West Glenn Ave 44]

One thing that might be a positive this week against Georgia is that we have had  two weeks to prepare for them, and under CGM, Auburn has not lost a regular season game coming off of a bye week.

Disclaimer: Prior history does not indicate future performance.

[cctiger 578]

1 hour ago, aucanucktiger said:

Stats are a funny thing, a career .400 batting average where you fail 6 times out of 10 will get you into the hall of fame. 4 - 9 vs Bama and UGa THIS decade plus a sweep of both when each was #1  is actually bloody impressive IMO.

Hmmm....baseball vs football....question is, would you rather play baseball or football? or should I say, manage baseball or coach football?

[triangletiger 1,599]

1 hour ago, aucanucktiger said:

Stats are a funny thing, a career .400 batting average where you fail 6 times out of 10 will get you into the hall of fame. 4 - 9 vs Bama and UGa THIS decade plus a sweep of both when each was #1  is actually bloody impressive IMO. Yes, win the turnover and long-plays battles and we can beat both. 

The problem is losing to them when they're mediocre (e.g., UGA in 2015 and 2016).

[steeleagle 2,945]

38 minutes ago, triangletiger said:

The problem is losing to them when they're mediocre (e.g., UGA in 2015 and 2016).

And you have to break those 2 out AND add in LSU into that equation...

Any wins more than 1 is a good record against Alabama (in 6 games)...if that becomes 2-6 over the next 2 years...no.

But with GA 2-5 is NOT a good record and NOT impressive. 2017 was the only good one to count IMO. 2013 we were ranked #7 and had to make the prayer in Jordan-Hare to pull it out.  3 of those 5 losses were prior to Smart getting there too, when GA was struggling and getting ready to change coaches.

So, to win we have to score more than 24 points, and I don't see that happening unless Gus calls a good passing game.

[AuburnEagle79 2,188]

2 hours ago, keesler said:

I'd like to agree with you if I hadn't just watched the Ole Miss game go down to the wire in JHS  10 days ago. 

To me, that's what would make it all the more frustrating, seeing our potential on both sides of the spectrum. I have no clue what will happen on Saturday, but it really wouldn't shock me if we came out and whipped them or if they came out and whipped us. Life with Gus is weird. 

[DAG 34,751]

absolutely we can. We definitely have the talent to do so. 

[triangletiger 1,599]

2 hours ago, keesler said:

I'd like to agree with you if I hadn't just watched the Ole Miss game go down to the wire in JHS  10 days ago. 

To be fair, I think there was some hangover effect after the tough loss to LSU.  Plus, we held out a few key players that might have played if it was a 'bigger' opponent. 

[aucom96 1,652]

We can beat Georgia if Nix can avoid turning the ball over and make just a few big plays. Given what I've seen from him this year, that may be a tall order against their defense. 

Alabama, I'm not liking the matchup. We can't play man on their receivers or they will smoke us. They're better in the running game than advertised. Their defense can be taken advantage of, but you have to do it in the middle of the field which Gus avoids like the plague. 

[bigbird 60,939]

4 minutes ago, triangletiger said:

Plus, we held out a few key players that might have played if it was a 'bigger' opponent. 

On offense?

[abw0004 10,303]

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

3 hours ago, keesler said:

I'd like to agree with you if I hadn't just watched the Ole Miss game go down to the wire in JHS  10 days ago. 

Mercer went down to the wire in 2017. Just saying

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

45 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

And you have to break those 2 out AND add in LSU into that equation...

Any wins more than 1 is a good record against Alabama (in 6 games)...if that becomes 2-6 over the next 2 years...no.

But with GA 2-5 is NOT a good record and NOT impressive. 2017 was the only good one to count IMO. 2013 we were ranked #7 and had to make the prayer in Jordan-Hare to pull it out.  3 of those 5 losses were prior to Smart getting there too, when GA was struggling and getting ready to change coaches.

So, to win we have to score more than 24 points, and I don't see that happening unless Gus calls a good passing game.

Keep in mind, Georgia will be starting their 3rd string center and will be without their top wide receiver in an already pedestrian offense. Playing on the road, I think it's very possible that they don't score more than 14 points (outside of garbage time).

While their defensive statistics are impressive I think Auburn exposes them a little bit. It will still be a close game because Georgia does have a good defense.

Unlike in previous losses under Malzahn we're in a better place coming into the game. We are physically healthier (by all accounts) and we are mentally more prepared in that we haven't lost the let down games (ie 2014 A&M or 2018 Miss St). I recognize that I'm a sunshine pumper but this matchup does have shades of 2017.

[triangletiger 1,599]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

On offense?

Just Boobie, IIRC.  I'm not trying to defend Gus, but it seemed to me that it was sort of a letdown/trap game.