The SEC West was one of the toughest divisions in college football. Both the Arkansas Razorbacks and Auburn Tigers went through a gauntlet of tough conference games. Arkansas’ Bret Bielema earned his first two SEC wins and led the Razorbacks to their first bowl game appearance since 2011. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn enjoyed another successful season leading the Tigers to a No. 19 overall ranking to end the regular season. Here’s how the two compare in SDS’ coaching showdown.

MAKING THE CASE FOR BRET BIELEMA

Bielema led Arkansas to an improved record in 2014. The Razorbacks used a run-heavy offense that ranked No. 57 overall and No. 23 in rushing offense. While at Wisconsin, Bielema led his team to three consecutive Big Ten championships before joining Arkansas in December 2012. The coach was also named a finalist for the 2010 Bear Bryant Award, given to college football’s best coach.

MAKING THE CASE FOR GUS MALZAHN

Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik defeated Bielema for the Bryant Award in 2010, with much of his one-year success stemming from working with offensive guru Gus Malzahn. Malzahn proved to be the most important part of Auburn’s coaching success during its BCS championship season, coordinating one of the nation’s best offenses around eventual Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. The former coordinator left Auburn to accept his first coaching position at Arkansas State in 2011, before returning to the program as Chizik’s replacement in Dec. 2012. Malzahn led the Tigers to an immediate turnaround, winning the SEC championship and making a BCS title game appearance just one year after from going winless in the SEC.

VERDICT

This is a no brainer. Malzahn has proven to be one of the best offensive-minded coaches in college football. The Auburn coach has the credentials to make a favorable comparison against the majority of the nation’s top play callers. Bielema’s scheme is one-dimensional and will do little to fool opposing defenses. Sure, it has success early, but hasn’t proven to outweigh its passing flaws late in games against tough competition. Malzahn also has a run-oriented offense, but is capable of beating teams through the air and catching opponents off guard. At best, Bielema is a coach capable of securing bowl eligibility thus far in his SEC career. Malzahn has already won an SEC championship that will likely allude his counterpart throughout his entire tenure at Arkansas. Game over.

Winner: Gus Malzahn