AUBURN, Ala. – For the 21st time in Gus Malzahn's seven seasons as Auburn's head coach, the Tigers will play in the SEC's signature time slot - 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS - when No. 11 Auburn plays No. 2 LSU on Oct. 26.
The "SEC on CBS" has already showcased Auburn twice on the road this season, at Texas A&M and Florida.
The Tigers will play their first 11 a.m. CT game of the season Saturday at Arkansas on SEC Network.
RESTED AND READY
After taking off Friday and Saturday, Auburn practiced Sunday evening for 14 5-minute periods.
"We had a successful off week," Malzahn said. "We accomplished what we wanted to. Our guys had really positive energy. They were refreshed over the weekend. Came back ready to practice. That was a good sign."
"We have a tough schedule, so any chance we get to rest, I feel that it's important," defensive back Noah Igbinoghene said. "Monday's an off day, another day of rest. Going to Arkansas, we all get our legs back and play better."
Sunday's rare rainfall provided a bonus, Malzahn said.
"It was good to be out there and get used to a wet ball," he said. "Hadn't had a chance to do that much at all since fall camp started.
"You could see they had a hop to their step tonight. They were moving around really well."
Auburn is 8-0 under Malzahn after byes, including 7-0 in conference games and 3-0 in road games. The Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3) are 2-1 at home this season
"They're playing hard," Malzahn said. "You can't take anything for granted. We're expecting them to play hard and do what they've been doing. They're close, they're continuing to fight. It's about us playing good football, that's really the message that I've been having to our team, but we have a lot of respect for them. We know we're going to get their best. It's a challenge anytime you go on the road in this league."
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
In its list of "coaches who did the best jobs in the first half of the 2019 season," College Football News ranks Malzahn at No. 5, trailing only the head coaches from unbeaten Wisconsin, LSU, Oklahoma and Ohio State.
Under the headline "Crushing It," CFN writes, "There's a chance that Oregon really is one of the four best teams in college football, and to start the season, Malzahn made the call to start a true freshman quarterback against a team with a guy who'd probably have been the New York Giant starting QB had he left early. Bo Nix wasn't perfect, but he beat Justin Herbert.
"5-1 after facing Oregon, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Tulane – yeah, this year Tulane – and Florida on the slate? Ol' Gus is doing alright."
'DETERMINED TO LEAD'
In his first six games, true freshman quarterback Bo Nix has led the Tigers to a 5-1 record, including the aforementioned win over No. 12 Oregon in his college football debut.
"He's got a chance to be really good," Malzahn said. "He's a competitor. He wants to be good, and I think he's a good leader."
Nix displayed his leadership after Auburn's 24-13 loss at Florida on Oct. 5
"He's reenergized and refueled and ready to go for the next portion of the season," receiver Will Hastings said. "He's just got confidence. He's got confidence that we can run the table and beat everyone on the whole schedule.
"When you have a dude who's that confident – it's not even cocky – it's just straight confidence. He comes about it the nicest way and he thinks we can beat anyone and everyone. When you have a dude like that, you're going to follow him in to war. It's pretty cool being able to watch him, being so young and be able to have that maturity and that confidence."
"He's determined to lead our team," Malzahn said. "We've had a really good week of practice last week. I expect us to continue to get better and expect us to play good football, and he's in that same boat."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer