Auburn football: What sort of offensive performance should we expect from Gus’ Tigers?

Auburn 37, Louisiana Tech 13

Offensive coordinator: Gus Malzahn
Auburn final record: 8-5
Points per game: 33.3
National ranking: 17th out of 120 teams

In Malzahn’s first season on the Plains as Gene Chizik’s OC, Auburn had a solid outing in its opener. The Tigers totaled 135 yards on their first two possessions that ended with a field goal and touchdown. But they only added another field goal in the first half as they fumbled away the ball twice and punted one other time.

After fumbling on its first possession of the second half, Auburn scored three touchdowns and kicked a field goal on its final five drives of the game. When it was over, Auburn rushed for 301 yards and threw for 255. The Tigers converted 8 of 13 times on third down.

Chris Todd was 17 for 26 with 255 yards, including a 93-yard TD to Terrell Zachery. Onterio McCalebb rushed for 148 yards and Ben Tate added 117.

Considering how bad the Auburn offense was in Tommy Tuberville’s final season in 2008 (17.3 points per game, 302.9 yards per game), it was a welcomed site to see the Tigers nearly double their scoring average and add more than 100 yards to its average yardage output (431.8).