‘Tiger Talk’ Iron Bowl edition

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What Gus Malzahn said on ‘Tiger Talk’ before the Iron Bowl

Updated Nov 25, 2019;Posted Nov 25, 2019

4-5 minutes

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, Gus Malzahn joined Brad Law on the radio show “Tiger Talk” three days early to avoid messing with Thanksgiving dinner plans.

His team is coming off its first shutout of the year, a 52-0 win over Samford. In the win, Auburn got to give players deep in the depth chart game experience.

Now, the Tigers are turning towards their biggest rivalry game of the year, the Iron Bowl. Alabama is set to come to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Here is what Malzahn said about the Tigers’ recent win as well as their upcoming game:

GUS MALZAHN:

-- He was panicked trying to get to “Tiger Talk” from practice. They took off Sunday and had practice Monday instead.

-- You have more time this week because there are no classes. Guys can watch more film, and there’s more prep time. Tuesday will be the same practice. Thursday, they’ll do practice early so the players can make it to Thanksgiving dinner.

-- The weather was tough in the first half of Samford. He was really proud of how the team handled it. They got to play 2′s and 3′s. Also really impressed with the fans that stuck around and the band. “Most bands would have gone home.”

-- They were really hoping to get Cord Sandberg in. They did, and it was real good for him. “He managed the offense well.” He threw well, especially on the two touchdown passes. “For a guy that really hadn’t had a lot of experience, that was good to see.”

-- They’re expecting Mac Jones to be the quarterback for Alabama. But whoever they play, you know they’ll be good. “Our defense is playing really good right now, so that will be a good match up.” They have enough film to prepare for Jones and to know that he’s talented. They’ll do their best to predict how he’ll attack.

-- Marlon Davidson won SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the fourth time this season. “Wow. That’s good stuff.” He’s been consistently dominant. Even the weeks he didn’t win it, he played really well. He’s one of the best players Malzahn has coached. “He’s super savvy.”

-- They have to rely on the older guys for “wisdom” on preparing for the Iron Bowl. But there definitely won’t have to be any motivational speeches this week. The guys will be ready to go.

-- They wanted to throw more in the beginning of the game, but it was “raining sideways.” They were more conservative then, but Malzahn wanted to see how they’d throw the ball. It definitely affected the game plan.

-- Any time you play a talented defense, you need to be balanced. They won’t plan for Bo Nix to throw 50 times again.

-- Jones manages the offense well. He also has a lot of talented receivers and a running back, so they don’t need to ask too much of him. The offensive line is also really impressive. They’re “big guys and they can run.”

-- Their defense is similar to what it’s been in the past. They’re strong up front — young, but strong. But Boobee Whitlow and several other guys have been finding success. Their ability to spread the ball added to Nix’s ability to run makes them harder to defend. It was really good for Nix to connect with Harold Joiner on the touchdown.

-- Christian Tutt is really coming along. He got to play a lot as a true freshman, which helped him heading into this year. “He’s a tough guy, too.”

-- His first Iron Bowl was 10 years ago. “Your Iron Bowls, you remember them all. At least, I do.” He remembers the plays they ran, too, and the disappointment that they lost.

-- In practice, he plans to emphasize that the players can play fast. They need to be able to react and not think so much. Otherwise, he knows they’ll play their guts out. “They look forward to this game all year long, and it’s finally here.”

-- To defend Alabama well, they’ll have to take away the “big play.” To do that, they’ll have to tackle well, which they’ve done all year.

-- The defense is on the way to making records. “The thing about it is, we’ve played some real people." They need to add an asterisk onto that since they’ve played such tough opponents.

-- “We’ve been there and done that. We’ve played some of the best teams in college football... for the most part, we’re a battle-tested team.”

-- He told his team, especially the newcomers, that they’re about to experience something special. “This is the best rivalry there is.”