Alex Golesh could sit there and revel in his Auburn football program's 2-0 start after whooping Southern Miss 43-8 at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night. After all, the Tigers had 610 yards of total offense.
Then again, the Hugh Freeze and Bryan Harsin eras provided plenty of this Power 4-on-Group of Six matchup violence. Golesh knows that his offense isn't humming, and he knows the team needs to improve before hosting Florida this Saturday night.
Ask Golesh how he knows what it takes to beat the Gators.
After gashing the Golden Eagles in Golesh's first game in Lee County, Alabama, the head coach said he feels "sick" about a Jeremiah Cobb fumble in the red zone and an illegal block in the back on Scrap Richardson.
"I was just so beyond disappointed in the sloppiness. I was beyond disappointed in the block in the back on the punt return and then the fumble in the red zone, like just sloppy, sloppy, and I don't care what the score is, I don't. That's what I just told these guys," Golesh said postgame.
Golesh took responsibility for the sloppy play, just as he did after the 17-16 Week 1 win over Baylor.
"And we'll get it right, we'll get it cleaned up. There just needs to be a sense of urgency to clean it up," Golesh said.
Golesh is undefeated on the field and undefeated at the press conference.
Auburn needs to get it together before Florida comes to town
The offensive line still has to shake some holding issues, and the offense in general has a false start issue.
10 penalties team-wide against a squad like USM is borderline unforgivable. No wonder Golesh is so bothered.
Florida got its act together defensively in Week 2 against Campbell. The competition wasn't elite, but the run defense was stout, and the unit forced turnovers. They may still be vulnerable in some respects, but Auburn looks more vulnerable after the first two games.
No wonder the Tigers are underdogs, even at home.
Alex Golesh is the perfect man to be leading Auburn against Florida
Despite how underwhelming the product looks, Auburn fans can be happy about the man leading the Tigers into the fire as SEC play begins.
Golesh's squad has given up 24 points in two games and has gotten the job done both times. He's not satisfied in the slightest. He knows his coaching staff is the main reason this team hasn't gotten there.
Just knowing that losses won't hurt as much, with a head coach who won't put his foot in his mouth, makes whatever happens next a vast improvement over the last five years. No matter what happens, the current man in charge will display class.
It's unclear how many wins should be expected, but the Tigers have a new standard. The hope is that improvement is driven by Golesh's attitude.
College football is unpredictable. Texas just came back down 20 in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State. Oregon just lost to Oklahoma State. Maybe Auburn has more hope than many are thinking, based on two positive results.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The Tigers may just take a little more time. Why can't that time be this week in practice?
Golesh has the attention to detail to trust that it's at least possible.
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