AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn coach Gus Malzahn observed a different swagger Sunday from his team, the kind produced when you overcome a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat a Top 25 divisional opponent.
"The thing that I really took away from that game is when the game was on the line, defensively, we made play after play," Malzahn said. "Offensively, the last two series we answered the bell and then special teams-wise, the return really had a lot to do with it. And we covered the kick, too. We covered the kickoff and held them inside the 25 or 20.
"So all three phases helped win that game when the pressure was on the most. That's really what our team has taken from that. And you could tell Sunday. It felt different from a confidence standpoint. That's exactly what we needed -- that kind of win to help give us some momentum moving forward."
Now comes the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, a road trip to No. 5 Georgia Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
"It was a big win for us Saturday," Malzahn said. "The way we won, I really think will help us moving forward and we're looking forward to playing a very good Georgia team, one of our rivals on the road. When you play the elite teams, you've got to manufacture rushing yards. The more talented teams you play, the more important it is to be balanced."
Here are highlights from Coach Malzahn's weekly meeting with reporters:
What was it like in the locker room after Texas A&M? "Great, especially the way we won that game; it was very exciting. There is nothing like it after a big win in this league. Our leaders were celebrating, and it was great to see the excitement on our players face and everything that went with it. It was a fun time."
On punter Arryn Siposs…"He's been one of our MVPs overall. What he did the other day, we put our punt team backed up numerous teams and his ball placement was great. He's a true weapon. A&M's punter was unbelievable, but I believe (Siposs) is in that category. I think he's one of the best punters in the league and I think he's got a chance to get even better. What stands out to me is that he's a great competitor. He competes, he's very consistent, and he's a weapon."
On Christian Tutt's punt return…"That was a similar play that we ran against Georgia last year and have been waiting for the right moment to execute it. Tutt did a super job, especially with a guy in his face, where a lot of guys would have fair caught it, but he didn't and was just a hair away from going 85 yards. That was a huge play in the game from the standpoint of instead of having the ball at the 15, we had the ball at 40, and that changes everything when we had one timeout under two minutes. That was a big play."
Derrick Brown's play…"Any time he and Dontavius Russell are in the middle, you have two big guys that make trouble for offensive linemen getting to that second level, and they do a great job of keeping guys off our linebackers and letting them play. If they get one on one situations, they are extremely tough to block."
What has made Nick Coe so effective in the backfield…"Nick is really coming along and gaining more confidence, and he is playing at a high level against the run. He also got a sack when they added one second to the game clock at the end of the game and that was big for him, too."
Scouting report on UGA:…"We're playing a very good Georgia team this week -- a team that we know well, and they know us well. This will be the third time in a calendar year that we've played each other. Kirby's done a very good job with this program -- has a lot of talent. They play very well on all three phases. I look at them offensively and they lead our league in rushing; they know how to run the football. They've got a good offensive line with some good backs. Their quarterback's leading the league in completion percentage -- Jake Fromm -- he can make all the throws, very efficient, very good leader. Defensively, they're third in the league in total defense and top 10 in scoring defense. Really what stands out to me is they're playing a whole lot of defensive linemen. They keep the guys fresh, they rotate a lot of guys. They're very talented in special teams; they've got one of the best returners and Hardman does a super job when you get the ball in his hands. Their kicker is one of the leading kickers, too. So, overall when you look at them on film, they look like a team that has already won the East. They make you earn everything; they're sound in all three phases."
