Oct. 11, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Gus Malzahn isn't looking back at how the first half of his schedule played out, how his young offense had to play No. 3 Clemson in the opener, how it drew No. 6 Texas A&M in game three.
The Auburn coach is instead looking ahead at this, the halfway point of the regular season, with a team that has gained experience, now has a 4-2 record with wins over LSU and Mississippi State, and is ranked No. 23 in the AP poll.
Malzahn says he likes his Tigers as they look to the second half of the season.
"You never want to make excuses from a coach's standpoint -- and I'm not -- but the reality is we had very little experience on offense," he said. "It took us a couple of games to learn about what we have and what we needed to improve on. After six games, we have a really good idea who we're going to be offensively. I still think we have a chance to improve."
Auburn is enjoying an open date this week before jumping back into Southeastern Conference play against Arkansas on Oct. 22. Auburn is already a different team than the one that played Clemson and Texas A&M in experience, and responsibility.
Auburn's defense has been a strength, and the Tigers are 3-0 since Malzahn turned over the playing calling to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
"It's been really good," Malzahn said. "I think you can really tell a difference since that has happened as far as our balance, our tempo, really our red zone the last two weeks. We've got to keep improving. You'll continue to see new wrinkles, but at the end of the day you've got to run the football. He's done a good job along with Herb Hand's help. Those are two guys I have a lot of confidence in who have been with me before, and in some pretty pressure moments. I know what I'll get with them."
Malzahn assessed his team at the halfway point Monday.
Do you like where your team is after six games?
"I like where we're at. From offensive standpoint, we're figuring out who we are. We're improving each game with a whole bunch of young guys. If you really look at it, our two guards had starting experience, and our quarterback had some, our H-back had some, but the rest of the guys are all new starters or are in different positons. We're getting better.
"Defensively, we've played solid all year across the board.
"Special teams, we're No. 1 in the country in punts. We have no return yards. Our kickoffs, Daniel Carlson is 30 of 31 in touchbacks. And we're leading the league in fewest penalty yards. So there are a lot of good things. But we've got to be one of the teams each week that needs to find a way to improve."
How has Sean White played?
"You can see him evolve. He is completely in control of the offense. I think he's showed toughness. I think he's showed very good decision-making. I have a lot of confidence in him."
Is it difficult to change an offense that has relied on the versatility of guys like Cam Newton and Nick Marshall?
"We've got to build around our quarterbacks' strengths. That being said, before the year we made a point to say the quarterback has to be more of a runner, and he has, whether it's the read-zone or the power-read, he's been more of a runner. We have had called designed runs for him, and I think he's done well."
Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway are both in the Top 10 in rushing in the SEC any surprises there?
"Kerryon Johnson has really come on. Kamryn Pettway had the one game we held him out because of injuries, but he carried it 39 times Saturday. They really complement each other. And I think it really says something about our offensive line starting to gel. We have the two guards who have started before, but everybody else has new spots or is completely new to starting. We played some pretty good opponents so far as far as rush defenses are concerned. That says a lot about our offense line."
Your schedule started with five home games, but the opener was against Clemson and Texas A&M came early. Do you think things would have been different if the schedule had been a little different?
"That's just the way it is. From a coach's standpoint, you have who you've got to play. You just worry about the next game."
The second half of the schedule includes Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama. Where do you go from here?
"This off week couldn't come at a better time. We're beat up. We've got to get guys healthy. We've got to get guys fresh for this final run because it's as tough as a schedule as anybody will play in the country in the second half."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine