Auburn football: What Gus Malzahn says isn’t making fan base any happier

Judging from what Auburn football fans were discussing on Twitter during the game Saturday night, Gus Malzahn is not a popular guy right now.

And that’s understandable.

The offense is a mess.

Is it the offensive line? Is it Jarrett Stidham? Is it the inexperience at running back? Is it the play-calling? Is Auburn simply just a mediocre team at best on offense?

One week after getting just 225 total yards in a 34-3 win against Arkansas, Auburn reached 341 this week in a 24-13 victory over Southern Miss. I mean seriously, what do you take from that?

Here’s what some Auburn football fans were saying Saturday night:

There’s more. Plenty more where that came from.

It is difficult to believe that the Auburn football team is comprised of:

• A wonderful defense.
• A special teams unit that is aggressive and opportunistic.
• Freshmen making plays on both sides of the ball.
• And one of the worst offenses since Gus came to the Plains.

When you hear what Gus is saying after the game, it’s clear that he sees what is frustrating every Auburn football fan watching the offense. Of course, so many of us want to scream at him, scream at the field, scream at the TV … just let it out.

Maybe Gus wants to scream, too.

There’s a good chance that Gus stayed up all night trying to figure out what to do, how to give Stidham more time, how to score more points.

If anyone thinks he slept soundly with happy visions of a 4-1 record in his head, you’re wrong. Because none of us slept well thinking about it, either.

For starters, yes, Auburn does need to run the football better. But it’s never going to be 2013 better or 2014 better. Nick Marshall was the quarterback then and a home run threat on every snap. The Tigers don’t have that with Stidham.

Gus knows that.

And so does every opponent.

That’s why teams are pinning back their ears and bringing the house at Stidham. They know if they get him to leave the pocket, the odds favor the defense. And right now, Stidham too often is being flushed from the pocket and can’t find enough running room to make defenses pay.

Gus said after the game Saturday that he was pleased to be 4-1. He has a point. It could be worse. Can Auburn win the next two weeks at Mississippi State and at home vs. Tennessee with a similar performance? Maybe. Both of those teams are struggling.

But Ole Miss and Texas A&M likely are going to force Auburn to score points.

Then there’s Georgia … and Alabama is a whole other conversation that’s not worth having right now.