Gus Malzahn says Auburn 'real close' to winning edge

Gus Malzahn says Auburn 'real close' to winning edgeGus Malzahn says Auburn 'real close' to winning edge

Sept. 20, 2016

By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. -- Gus Malzahn says Auburn is close - "real close" - to turning around its football fortunes.

The Auburn coach said Tuesday he's disappointed the Tigers are have lost to No. 5 Clemson and No. 10 Texas A&M, but he's working to fix things before Saturday's 5 p.m. game against LSU.

"The last two losses have probably hurt me worse than any of the others," Malzahn said Tuesday. "I fully understand our fan base is disappointed, and they should be. The bottom line is we've got to coach our players better, and that starts with me. The fact is, we're close. As a matter of fact, we're real close to being a good team and we're going to get this thing turned around."

"As a leader," he added, "you've got to correct things that aren't going well. That's the only thing on my mind."

"As the leader, you've got to inspire them. You've got to keep them together. They know we're close, players know. Players know that you're in a game and have opportunities like the last game in the third quarter. Our defense had three three-and-outs. We had opportunities on the plus-side of the field and we didn't score. We just need to take that next step. We will do that and I'm very confident we will do that."

Malzahn said he understands the fans' frustrations.

"I definitely feel their pain first of all. I know the Auburn family. I know their expectations," he said. "I don't read social media. I just know they expect us to play good football. I hurt, too. We got to do a better job; I got to do a better job. I'm going to."



The defense has kept Auburn in games. The offense, Malzahn acknowledged, could have been better.

"I think when you look at the first game we had opportunities to win that game," he said of the opener against Clemson. And against Texas A&M, "we didn't put points on the board when we had opportunities late in the game."

"We had opportunities to take the lead in the third quarter -- that's what I mean by close. That's probably why it hurts as much as it does because from a coaches' standpoint. You have to find a way to get your team over the hump.

"That's what I mean by close, it's very factual. We are putting the hurt behind us. We left that on Sunday. We are moving forward to LSU, one of the best teams in college football, playing them at our place and we need to play well."

Part of that will be with Sean White, who will make his third start at quarterback Saturday, that coming after John Franklin III finished up against Texas A&M. The offense will otherwise be examined closely.

"A big thing is you evaluate things when you're struggling and you're not being as good as you can," Malzahn said. "You've got to figure out what's not working. You've got to figure out what is working and you've got to build upon those things.

"The negative plays, that's probably the No. 1 focus right now. Just stay out of the negative plays and get us in some third down and shorts rather than third down and 11-plus. I think we've had 11 or 12 third down and 11-plus. I don't care who you're playing, you get in those situations and it makes it tough. It really is the main reason we're behind the chains. The No. 1 things from an offensive staff standpoint that they're focusing on is the no negative plays.


Also...

- Malzahn was coy when asked about any personnel changes.

"I don't want to get into stuff like that playing an opponent. We are trying to improve in every area."

- He said freshman quarterback Woody Barrett is making up for lost time after hurting his ankle in August.

"We are working with him and trying to get him caught up. He's a talented young man. He needs some extra work."

Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine