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Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn talked about this weekend’s Iron Bowl during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
Auburn (6-5) hosts No. 2 Alabama (10-1) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be shown on CBS.
Malzahn is well aware of how good his team’s opponent is. On Tuesday, he said the Crimson Tide was probably the most talented team in the country.
Malzahn calls Alabama “probably the most talented team in the country.” https://t.co/PxVBEjETfq
— Tom Green (@AUBlog) November 24, 2015
Auburn’s coach is particularly impressed with Alabama’s front seven on defense.
Malzahn on Alabama’s front seven: “They’re the best in the country.” Says Tide’s second team like first team at many places.
— John Zenor (@jzenor) November 24, 2015
Two things Malzahn feels the Tigers must do on Saturday are make some big plays and score touchdowns when they get in the red zone.
Auburn’s Gus Malzahn on facing Alabama: “You have to have explosive plays against their defense because they’re so talented.” — Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) November 24, 2015
Gus Malzahn on 2014 Iron Bowl: “We had opportunities in the red zone and kicked a whole lot of field goals.” https://t.co/SdiZAaz60z — James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) November 24, 2015
Right now the Tigers are trying to focus on getting better and being ready to play on Saturday.
Malzahn says the message this week is focusing on themselves and having a good week of practice — Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) November 24, 2015
Auburn isn’t sure who the quarterback will be on Saturday. Jeremy Johnson is coming off possibly his best performance of the season last week against Idaho (163 yards passing, two touchdowns, no interceptions). But Sean White could be back from his knee injury. Malzahn said he’ll have a better idea of how ready White is after today’s practice.
Malzahn says he hopes to name a starter before game day. Adds they haven’t decided if they’ll play both White and Jeremy Johnson — Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) November 24, 2015
Malzahn says Sean White practiced “the other day and was much improved”. Adds they’ll know more after Tuesday’s practice — Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) November 24, 2015
Regardless of who the quarterback is, Malzahn believes the Tigers have to make plays in the passing game. He says you can’t be one-dimensional against Alabama.
Malzahn “when you’re playing a talented defense you can’t be one-dimensional” — Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) November 24, 2015
Malzahn didn’t want to reveal too much about Auburn’s game plan.
Gus Malzahn on keeping things under wraps during Iron Bowl week: “You have to protect what you’re doing.”
— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) November 24, 2015
Center Austin Golson missed last week’s game with a knee injury, but could return this week. If Golson can’t play, Devonte Danzey would be the Tigers’ center. Left tackle Shon Coleman also missed the Idaho game, but is likely to play against Alabama.
Auburn’s Gus Malzahn says there’s a chance injured starting center Austin Golson could play against Alabama — Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) November 24, 2015
Malzahn said Shon Coleman practiced the other day. “I would say his chances of playing are pretty high” — Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) November 24, 2015
Malzahn believes Auburn’s defense has played much better since defensive end Carl Lawson returned from an injury that forced him to miss the first half of the season.
Malzahn: “Since Carl’s come back, we’ve looked like a good defense.” https://t.co/PxVBEjETfq — Tom Green (@AUBlog) November 24, 2015
Gus Malzahn on Will Muschamp’s defense: “It’s starting to become what he wants it to be. You can see improvement. Playing extremely hard.” — Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) November 24, 2015
On Monday, Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones gave Auburn’s receivers some bulletin board material when he said he didn’t think they were anything special. Malzahn passed on the opportunity to respond to Jones’ comments, and instead complimented the Crimson Tide.
Malzahn on Cyrus Jones’ comments yesterday: “We’ve got a lot of respect for their players and their program.”
— Evan McCullers (@EvanMcCullers) November 24, 2015
