I have spent the past week trying to find the words that adequately describe what took place in Jordan-Hare Stadium last weekend and – much like Auburn’s offense – I have come up short. Gus Malzahn’s quarterback rotation was a carousel of calamity. To say it was puzzling would be polite – embarrassing and inept are much better descriptions of what Auburn fans witnessed on Saturday night.
After an offseason that included Malzahn mentioning several times he would be ‘more involved’ with the X’s and O’s on offense, he most definitely delivered by rotating five different players at the quarterback or wildcat quarterback position a total of 18 times. It was a strategy that absolutely doomed the team’s chances at a victory over the #2 ranked Clemson Tigers and completely undermined what was arguably the best defensive effort since well before Gus arrived as offensive coordinator in 2009.
Further compounding the frustration of Auburn’s offensive woes in week 1 is the fact that this coaching staff had an entire offseason to plan for and execute an appropriate and effective game plan. Somehow that did not happen, and instead of getting credit for a hard-fought loss against a highly ranked team, Auburn sits in the unenviable position of becoming the laughing-stock of the SEC. The same conference that includes a Mississippi State team that lost to South Alabama in their season opener.
If this is the result of Malzahn becoming more ‘hands-on’ with the offense, I cringe at what we may soon see play out on the field the rest of this season. Auburn has to circle the wagons and dig their way out of a massive hole. Gus Malzahn had a chance to restore stability and confidence in the program with either a victory or even a close loss to a national title contender at home. Ironically, he accomplished one of those two things and failed this team and the fans miserably.
In the past week, Malzahn has since stated the quarterback rotation was ‘unsuccessful’ and announced that Sean White is the definitive starter for Auburn’s matchup against Arkansas State this weekend with John Franklin III backing him up. Personally, I won’t believe it until I see it on the field. Anything Gus says at this point is filler. It’s unimportant and meaningless. The product on the field has to change or the name of Auburn’s head football coach will.
Entering this season, I thought it would be nearly impossible for Malzahn to do anything that would legitimately jeopardize his job in the month of September. The schedule is tough and I thought Auburn could make a good showing by leaving 3-2 or even 2-3 heading into October. Now that has all changed. Gus Malzahn won’t make it to October if he continues to field an offense as broken and ineffective as it was in its first week.
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