It all begins with the expectation. No one outside, maybe not even some of the Auburn players and coaching staff, realistically expected to win against Alabama. The Crimson Tide are too talented, at home and playing for revenge after last year’s game.
That’s fine if you are Vanderbilt or Arkansas, Ole Miss or Mississippi State.
Yet this is Auburn, one of the top-15 programs in the history of college football, and all we can hope for is to keep it close? Is that where we stand as a program?
Unfortunately it is under Gus Malzahn and yet another sign that his tenure has run its course at Auburn. Listen, going into Tuscaloosa to win a game is hard for anyone, but getting absolutely blown out while getting extremely conservative — settling for field goals against this ‘Bama offense isn’t going to get it done — is quite embarrassing.
Oh, and that 56-yard attempt after a good drive in the third quarter? That is just giving up.
It all starts with the offensive line. For quite some time that has been the weakness that has shown up for Auburn time and time again. Bo Nix wouldn’t have had time against Middle Tennessee, let alone Alabama. I don’t blame Nix for having happy feet. It is understandable considering how often he gets hit.
It is also about quarterback development. In no way has Nix thrived under Malzahn or Chad Morris. In fact, no quarterback has. Just look at the past. Jeremy Johnson became a joke. Sean White the same. Jarrett Stidham, a quarterback handed to Malzahn as a future first-round draft pick, became a shell of his former self.
Mac Jones was a 3-star recruit. Nix a 5-star. Who would you want right now?
The defense was at fault as well. As my friend Rett Moncrief texted me, “Malzahn and the Tigers had no answer against a washed-up Pac-12 head coach who calls plays like his playing Xbox with his granddad.”
Mostly, it is about the belief that everyone has in this program. It is hard to see Auburn progressing any more under Malzahn. Like many, he is better served as an assistant somewhere that they like to run the hurry-up, no-huddle (remember that?) and not someone who shrinks up in big moments against the biggest rivals.
If there is a popularity poll for Malzahn, I’m guessing it would likely be under 10 percent. Everyone sees what is happening and not even Kevin Steele, one of the best coordinators in the game, can save it. Not with an offense that is stale, boring and predictable. The Tigers defense got worn down by the end of the third quarter and you could see it. That is on Morris and company.
Listen, if you want mediocrity and four-loss season, we can stick with Malzahn. Yet I think our program deserves better than that. Our fan base deserves better. Our players deserve better.
It will take a lot of money for Malzahn to be ousted but, as many of us know, the money is there. It is about Allen Greene, who has seemingly become a silent participant in controlling the athletic department, to have the guts to fire him, even if it is the right move. Plenty of coaches better than Malzahn are out there.
It’s time to make a move or else there might be a mutiny on the Auburn football ship. People are fed up and I don’t blame them. Heck, I am one of them.
Thanks for the memories, Gus. It has been a highly mediocre experience.