USA TODAY International Edition
Michigan on rise
Ohio State’s loss opens door for 7- 0 Wolverines to move to No. 2 in Amway Coaches Poll,
Gus Malzahn and his wife, Kristi, celebrated Saturday night, like they often do after victories, with a trip to a Waffle House. Over a ham- and- cheese omelet and hash browns — scattered, smothered, covered and chunked, add some diced jalapenos for heat — Auburn’s coach savored a 56- 3 victory against Arkansas.
“That may have been the most complete game during my time at Auburn,” he told USA TODAY Sports.
Auburn piled up 543 rushing yards while holding Arkansas to 25. Don’t look now, but Auburn has won four in a row since a 1- 2 start. And the Tigers’ obvious growth is evidence of something we rarely consider in the immediate aftermath of any given college football weekend: It’s just a snapshot. Over the course of a season, teams evolve — or sometimes they devolve — into something very different. Auburn has morphed in basically a month from a team with a good defense and an anemic offense into something approaching formidable.
Nothing has changed with the defense, but an inexperienced offensive line has jelled. Sophomore quarterback Sean White is playing well. And led by running backs Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson, the Tigers have become a power running bunch. Auburn ranks third nationally in rushing, averaging 302.9 yards.
“We’re starting to settle into kind of who we are and our personnel,” Malzahn said.
It’s a far cry from the beginning of the season, when the Tigers lost at home to Clemson. There was no shame in that, but the offense was a mess. Three quarterbacks played. None was effective. A stellar defensive effort was wasted. And when a couple of weeks later the Tigers lost to Texas A& M to drop to 1- 2, rumors were circulating about Malzahn’s job security.
The pivot point might’ve been Sept. 24, when LSU’s rally attempt barely ran out of time. Les Miles got fired. And the coach on the other sideline got a reprieve. A month later, Malzahn’s seat seems very cool — not that he wants to talk about it.
“I’m not in that world,” he said. “I’m just concentrating on the next game and trying to make our team as good as we can be.”
Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs told USA TODAY Sports the 1- 2 start “was an odd time,” while noting that Clemson and Texas A& M were highly ranked. Jacobs said he heard the noise from frustrated fans — but doesn’t hear much anymore.
“It’s gotten deathly quiet,” Jacobs said Sunday. “In my role and in Gus’ role, you don’t listen to that. You take care of what’s in- side the house. And inside the house, everybody’s been marching to the beat of the same drummer. I’m just glad to know that Gus and these coaches have helped these players find their identity.
“It took us two or three games to find out exactly what it was. Now we know it’s downhill, oldfashioned, run- the- ball and playing Southeastern Conference, Auburn defense. And the most important thing is Gus and these players are having fun. They’re excited to play because they’re confident.”
As for the why of Auburn’s transformation — other than natural growth, that is — consider that for the fourth consecutive game, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has called plays, with input from offensive line coach Herb Hand. After the 1- 2 start, Malzahn relinquished those duties for the first time in his career going back to when he was a high school coach.
“I’m kind of getting used to it,” Malzahn said, “but I like it. When you do something for 26 years, it takes some getting used to.”
And he really liked what he saw Saturday. But of course, it was just a snapshot.
Next up, a trip to Mississippi, which has been a handful for Auburn in recent years. Malzahn planned to host a breakfast Sunday at his home for recruits on an official visit.
“Then we’ve got to flip the switch for Ole Miss,” he said.
That’s reality in college football. Until the season’s end, even the most complete victory offers only momentary satisfaction. But at least there was that postgame trip to the Waffle House and that meal with all the trimmings.
“It was real good,” Malzahn said.
Auburn just might be, too.
WIN FEELS LIKE A LOSS
Where to even start with Oklahoma’s 66- 59 victory against Texas Tech? Maybe with Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who was absolutely dejected in victory.
“That was humiliating,” he told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday. “Everything we did, they had an answer. You felt defenseless. I’ve never felt that before. I couldn’t make any calls. Nobody could make a play.”
The mind- boggling numbers started with Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, who set an NCAA record with 819 total yards and tied the passing record with 734 yards. He completed 52 of an astounding 88 attempts ( one shy of the NCAA mark for attempts).
The teams set an NCAA record with a combined 1,708 yards — 854 by both teams. The spectacle took 4 hours, 10 minutes — but it seemed so much longer to the defensive coordinators.
“The way we play football in this league anymore is almost insanity,” Stoops said.
In other words, it was flag football. Or # LubbockAfterDark. Or Peak Big 12. It was reminiscent of West Virginia 70, Baylor 63 from 2012, and whatever anyone calls it, it’s sure to revive the stereo- types about how the Big 12 plays no defense.
Stoops is concerned only about the reality of how the Sooners play defense. Oklahoma has struggled all season, especially in pass coverage. Oklahoma ranks No. 73 nationally in total defense, allowing 412.8 yards per game, and No. 100 in scoring defense ( 33.0 points per game).
The Sooners are banged up, on the defensive line and in the secondary, and don’t have much depth anywhere. And Mahomes was red hot.
Together, those ingredients formed the perfect storm.
“They’re throwing the ball down the field, and some of those throws and catches I’ve never seen before. I don’t know,” Stoops said. “There’s no defense for a perfect pass. We got hit with about five of ’ em — but the hard one is just letting guys run by you.
“Everything he did was right, and we couldn’t make a play. That’s the hard part: How come they made every play? How come we didn’t make any? That’s an attitude, effort, focus thing, that’s a scheme — that’s a lot of things.”
On Sunday, Stoops took no solace in the win.
“We can’t win a ( conference) championship if we don’t play better defense, I know that,” he said. “That’s pretty sad when our offense is playing so well right now. That’s never been the case here at Oklahoma. We’ve always held up our end of the deal here on defense. … If we ain’t gonna respond now, we ain’t gonna respond. We’ll see.”
UPSET IN HAPPY VALLEY
The postgame delirium at Beaver Stadium — a sea of white, turning the playing surface into a giant mosh pit — was a tremendous scene. Penn State’s 24- 21 upset of Ohio State was a very cool moment, an important notch in James Franklin’s belt and a vivid reminder that just when you think you have it figured out, chaos comes and college football’s hierarchy gets reordered.
But here’s the thing: In terms of College Football Playoff scenarios, it might only have reordered the seeding.
If Ohio State wins out, the loss won’t have meant much at all. If we assume in that scenario that Michigan’s only loss is to Ohio State, it wouldn’t matter how Penn State finished. The Buckeyes would win any tiebreaker in the Big Ten East and advance to the Big Ten championship game. A win there would put them in the Playoff.
“Every goal is still alive,” coach Urban Meyer said. “We’re not a great team right now.”
That last part is the bigger issue going forward. The big “if ” in all this is winning out. The Buckeyes, while very talented, have been deficient in the downfield passing game. That factored into allowing Penn State to stay in the game, block a punt and then block a field goal attempt and pull off the giant upset.
Every goal is alive for Ohio State, sure. But can the Buckeyes play well enough to keep them that way?