Gus Malzahn on Bo Nix, Mississippi State and Kylin Hill ahead of Saturday’s game
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
Auburn will face four Top 10 teams in the final two months of the season, the first of which the Tigers will see a week from this Saturday. But first, Auburn has to play Mississippi State this weekend.
Mississippi State may not be ranked, but the Bulldogs are first in the SEC with 11 takeaways through four weeks. With a freshman starting behind center, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has taken extra notice of Mississippi State’s ability to take away the ball. In his Wednesday press conference, Malzahn said the Bulldogs “are very aggressive” and “come after you.”
Not that he’s all that worried about his freshman quarterback, Bo Nix. All along, Malzahn has been saying Nix will only get better as the season progresses, and he uttered that phrase again Wednesday, he “needs more experience,” then adding “the more experience he gets, the better he gets.”
Auburn will also face the challenge of stopping Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill, who is averaging more than 6.0 yards per carry this season. Malzahn said Hill “is definitely dynamic” and that his ability to break tackles will be “a good challenge” for the Auburn defense.
Here’s what else Malzahn said in his Wednesday press conference:
- Gus Malzahn on Auburn leading the nation in rushing yards in the second half: Tell you what, that’s a good question. Our guys have done a super job of execution in the 2nd half… that’s the biggest reason, once we figure out what the defense is giving us.
- On the OL wearing down opponents: Yeah, you would hope so. we pride ourselves in being in better condition, I would like to think that has something to do with it.
- On Tommy Stevens being limited, does that change the gameplan for Auburn? Both of those QBs are good, there are some similarities, we are preparing for both of them
- On his OL: Prince did a good job, he played well, stayed healthy, he is in a good spot going into this game. that group is growing, they have done a great job. if they stay healthy, we have a great chance to be a good OL.
- On MSU forcing turnovers: They are very aggressive, they come after you… they have some guys with some good ball skills.
- On the first play being a momentum play for Auburn’s offense over the years: I think there is some truth to that, getting momentum, getting some rhythm. We are at our best when we are playing fast.
Dave covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
