Gus Malzahn and his Auburn team managed to save the season with back-to-back league wins over Ole Miss and Texas A&M but the seasons on the Plains are judged by how the Tigers perform against Georgia and Alabama.

The Tigers still have an opportunity to turn the season from salvageable to great by beating their two biggest rivals and it starts this week in Athens. During his Tuesday press conference to preview the upcoming road trip to Georgia, Malzahn offered up the latest on his 6-3 Tigers, 3-3 in SEC play.

  • injury report heading into Georgia: I’d be surprised if everyone doesn’t play.
  • on what he took away from the Texas A&M win: When the game was on the line, defensively we made play after play. Offensively we made plays when we needed to do so. All three phases helped to win the game.
  • what’s the biggest thing that’s affecting the run game? It’s a lot of different factors. Early in the year, it’s inexperience and youth, now, we need to be more effective. That’s our challenge, whether it’s getting more creative… all those things are being considered.
  • Do you sub too much? It depends. If you look at the end of the game, we looked good without subbing, but again, if you don’t you can wear out your team. There’s strategy either way.
  • on Georgia CB DeAndre Baker: We thought he was really good last year. He came back and now he’s one of the best in the country
  • Is Georgia better now than earlier in the year? I’m just worried about what they are now. They are in the same category this year as last year, a very good team
  • on if he’d still like to see the Georgia and Alabama road games split to one a year: I think [AD] Allen [Greene] is working on that (in the spring meetings). What I want is one home, one away.
  • on the team’s starting center: Kaleb Kim will start there against Georgia.
  • on the status of Calvin Ashley: Ashley is still out dealing with a medical issue, we hope to get him back soon.