Oct. 17, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Gus Malzahn didn't shy away from the criticism during his weekly press conference Tuesday. He didn't make excuses. The Auburn coach stood at the podium and took the blame for what happened Saturday at LSU.
"Looking back on the LSU game, obviously that was an extremely tough loss," Malzahn said. "Blowing a 20-point lead was tough to take. But I just want to say this ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" I've got good coaches, I've got good players, and any time that happens, that's on the head coach and that's on me. That can't happen again. It's not going to happen again. But I take full responsibility."
The challenge now for this Auburn team is to move past the LSU loss and not let it affect them down the stretch. The Tigers travel to Arkansas this Saturday, and then following an open week, they finish with games against Texas A&M, No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama.
"You could tell when we got back Sunday, [the players] were still hurting," Malzahn said. "But [Monday], our guys put it behind them, and they'll be ready to play. Like I said, I really believe in this team and I believe that we will bounce back -- and not only will we bounce back, but that we'll have a chance to finish this thing like we wanted to when we first started the season."
The goal at the beginning of the season was to win an SEC championship. That's still on the table. If Auburn can win out and LSU loses a conference game, then Malzahn and his team will represent the SEC West in Atlanta for the conference championship game.
None of that matters, though, if the Tigers can't take care of business Saturday at Arkansas. It's the biggest game of the season because it's the next game.
And Malzahn knows that last year's 56-3 win has no bearing on this year's game.
"[Our players] are going to be motivated because it's an SEC game," he said. "Every year is different, and this year is different. For us, it's a big game. I'll just tell you right now -- it's a big game. That's the way we're approaching it. What happened last year doesn't affect us."
Personnel update
It's no secret that Auburn is eager to get to the open week after Arkansas. A handful of players left Saturday's game at LSU due to injury, and there were others who didn't make the trip or didn't dress this past weekend.
"We are a little beat up as a team right now," Malzahn said. "We've got some injuries. We've got some guys that are playing that aren't quite 100 percent. That's normal this time of year, especially not having an off-week. So our guys are looking forward to this game and then obviously, an off week next week to be able to heal up."
Offensively, Malzahn ruled out center Casey Dunn for the Arkansas game. However, there's a chance that fellow offensive lineman Mike Horton, who missed the LSU game, will be able to return this Saturday. If not, you can expect to see the same offensive line Auburn ran out at the end of the LSU game.
Also, Malzahn announced Tuesday that wide receiver Kyle Davis had been dismissed for breaking team rules.
As for the defense, it sounds like linebacker Tre' Williams might be able to return to practice Tuesday. Williams has missed three of the last four games because of a shoulder injury. The status remains unclear for safety Tray Matthews, who left in the first quarter against LSU with a hamstring injury and never returned.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf