It echoes what several have said on here. This really is a crucial couple of games for Malzahn and this program. Personally, I'd be sassified with going 1-1 as long as he's running the O the way we saw Saturday night. From Kevin Skrabshinski
If you're looking for unprecedented excitement, it'll be hard to top the end of the 2013 regular season when no one saw the Prayer in Jordan-Hare and the Kick Six coming. How many programs experience once-in-a-lifetime moments on back-to-back home dates?
If you're looking for historic relevance, it'll be difficult to match the 2013 postseason. A record-setting victory over Missouri gave Auburn the SEC championship, and a gut-wrenching defeat against Florida State kept the Tigers from adding the national title.
But if you're looking for the most important two-game swing of Gus Malzahn's tenure as the Auburn head coach, don't look back. Look straight ahead at the next two Saturdays.
The results from consecutive visits by No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 20 LSU won't necessarily set the administration to work on an extension or a termination, but it would behoove the head coach to put an end to two unbecoming trends.
Auburn has lost its last six home games against Power 5 opponents, and the Tigers are 2-8 in their last 10 games against SEC West rivals.
If you can't beat the big boys in your own sandbox, where can you beat them? If you can't compete in your own division - no matter how difficult the competition - it's time for a rigorous self-examination.
Texas A&M was a swing game in each of Malzahn's first three seasons. Beating Johnny Manziel and the Aggies 45-41 in College Station in 2013 stamped Auburn as a legit SEC and national title contender. It jumped the Tigers from No. 24 to No. 11 and gave Malzahn his first road win as the Auburn head coach.
Fumbling away two late chances at a comeback victory over A&M in 2014 and losing 41-38 took No. 3 Auburn out of the SEC and national title hunts. It also began the current six-game home skid against Power 5 visitors, which extended into this season with that 19-13 opening loss to Clemson.
Last year, Auburn shocked everyone by beating A&M in Aggieland behind Jeremy Johnson when Sean White was too wounded to go. It was Auburn's only win in a four-game stretch, it prevented the first three-game losing streak of Malzahn's tenure and it allowed the Tigers to get bowl eligible with an easy win over Idaho two weeks later.
This Texas A&M team is feeling good about itself at 2-0, which includes an opening win over UCLA, but this 1-1 Auburn team found some confidence of its own with 462 rushing yards and 706 total yards in a 51-14 romp over Arkansas State.
Hanging close with Clemson and racking up 706 yards in a 51-14 win over Arkansas State is apparently more impressive than beating UCLA and a 67-0 shutout of Prairie View.
Before the season began, most analysts and experts expected LSU to be the more challenging game in this two-week opening stretch in conference play. Given the offensive struggles of those Tigers, and the encouraging quarterback play of Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight for the Aggies, Texas A&M may present a greater degree of difficulty.
Either way, Malzahn can't afford to drop both games to fall to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. A sweep by Auburn isn't unthinkable. A split wouldn't be the end of the world. A shutout of the home team wouldn't be a complete doomsday scenario, but you could see it from there.
Funny thing is, these two series have been complete opposites for Malzahn. He's 2-1 against A&M, but the lower-ranked or unranked visitor has won each time. He's 1-2 against LSU, and the higher-ranked home team has won every game.
Taken together, Auburn has split with Texas A&M and LSU in each of Malzahn's three seasons, although the Tigers haven't played them back-to-back as they're about to do. He's even with SEC West opponents overall to this point at 9-9, but the trend is working against him.
What does it all mean? It's very early in the season, but two very important games are on the horizon. Malzahn and his team have a terrific opportunity to make this a September to remember. For better or worse.
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