How Good Is The SEC? Ask Gus Malzahn
October 28th, 2009 ║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Tags: Auburn
Now maybe Auburn is feeling the pinch of their inferior depth.
And maybe Onterio McCalebb’s ankle has slowed the offense’s production.
Or maybe Chris Todd is having some arm troubles again.
But my guess is this: Auburn’s offensive decline can be attributed to a league that boasts the smartest coaches in America.
In mid-September, folks were talking about Malzahn as though he were the second-coming of Steve Spurrier. His no-huddle, hurry-to-the-line, misdirection-everywhere system was lighting up every team that faced it. Just as it had when Malzahn coached at Tulsa.
But after a 5-0 start, the Tigers have fallen to 5-3 and their offense has been declining each week. Check its production in SEC games below:
| Opponent |
Rush Yds |
Rush Yds/Att |
Pass Yds |
Pass Yds/Att |
Total Offense |
TDs |
Production |
| Miss. St. |
390 |
6.61 |
199 |
8.29 |
589 |
6 |
— |
| Tennessee |
224 |
4.66 |
235 |
6.71 |
459 |
2 |
down 23% |
| Arkansas |
242 |
6.91 |
133 |
4.58 |
375 |
3 |
down 19% |
| Kentucky |
220 |
4.48 |
95 |
3.80 |
315 |
1 |
down 16% |
| LSU |
112 |
2.73 |
81 |
4.05 |
193 |
1 |
down 23% |
I don’t know about you, but when an offense drops off 23%, 19%, 16% and 23% each progressive week, I start to think the term “figured out” should be applied.
Malzahn might well be able to spark his offense again. Perhaps he can adjust to how defensive coordinators are attacking him. And as I mentioned above, maybe this is just a matter of having a thin roster in Year One of the Gene Chizik era.
But there’s no doubt the SEC’s coaches are the best in the nation. Their pricetags say so. Which is reason for Tiger fans to be worried.
Auburn’s coach — who was running a high school team five years ago — is now matching wits with the best of the best. And in each SEC game so far, Auburn’s offense has been headed south, not north.
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