Auburn football: What sort of offensive performance should we expect from Gus’ Tigers?
By Rob Maxwell
Auburn 31, Washington State 24
Head coach: Gus Malzahn
Auburn final record: 12-2
Points per game: 39.5
National ranking: 12th out of 125 teams
This team turned out to be Malzahn’s second-highest scoring Auburn team (behind the 2010 national championship squad). His first game as head coach of the Auburn football team was OK, but nothing special.
The Tigers ran 46 times for 295 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and completed just 10-of-20 passes for 99 yards against the Cougars. Auburn was not great on third down (4 of 14) and there really wasn’t much about this performance that provided optimism about what we would see from this team.
Nick Marshall ran just nine times for 27 yards. Tre Mason ran for 73 yards with a long run of 11 yards. Corey Grant gained 146 yards on nine carries. Five players caught passes.
Auburn punted on three of its first four drives of the game but scored two touchdowns and two field goals on its final four of the first half.
Led by Marshall, this offense grew every week and added another dimension. It’s easy to give the Tigers a pass on this one because of several things: new coach and a JUCO transfer at quarterback who converted from defensive back. This wasn’t going to be an immediate success. But when it found its groove, this offense was something special to watch.
Marshall became a dynamic playmaker at quarterback and Mason emerged as arguably the nation’s best running back by the time the regular season ended and was a Heisman Trophy finalist.