Why Malzahn will never win a championship at Auburn as head coach

From the AU board:

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I do take comfort in that I believe Malzahn will return us to the promise land many more times though...

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Can't wait until Gus has a couple of years to recruit. He is the GOAT

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This pain will not be soothed until the Gus Bus hoists that crystal next year

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I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but Gus Malzahn will not make it back to the national championship game while at Auburn. This was his year to do it, and he had everything lined up perfectly. I came up with ten reasons why:


10. Close games: Many people don't remember Auburn only beat Washington State by 7. Sure it was the first game and they got better as the year went on. But then they beat Miss State by 4, Ole Miss by 8, Texas AM by 4, UGA by 6, Bama by 6. No doubt they were good at close games, but a few times the ball bounced their way when they easily could have finished 5th or 6th in the SEC west, yet fans act like they dominated everyone.

9. Flying under the radar: Later in the season everyone knew they were talented, but how many teams do you think circled the Auburn game on the schedule last offseason?

8. The team was hungry: Disrepected after going winless in the SEC and having their worst season of all time, they came out with something to prove. You are always the best on your climb to the top, and this hunger isn't easy to maintain.

7. New coach: You could sense nobody wanted to play for Chizik; Malzahn gave the players and university something to be excited and hopeful about. With the talent they already had, they were going to be a better team with any coach (not saying that Malzahn isn't good coach)

6. HUNH: His offense was something that most SEC teams were unprepared for. Every team will be studying film and spending time during the off season figuring out the best way to combat it (instead of sitting back and reading, teams must attack and penetrate the line of scrimmage like Florida State did in the second half)

5. The rest of SEC was down this year: Barners may argue against this, but the fact that FSU won the national title says something.

4. Miracles: Even though their luck ran out, they had two of their greatest plays in history. That doesn't happen year in and year out.

3. They thought they were the team of destiny. See above.

2. Pressure: Auburn had no pressure this year. Nothing to lose and no expectations. They will come into next season as the highest ranked SEC and be the ones with the target on their back. Auburn has always been an incredible team when they are underdogs and wet the bed when they are highly rated, playing up and down to their opponents. Expectations were lower than ever this year, but will be higher than ever next season. I think Auburn fans will come to realize how incredibly important this psychological factor is.

1. Saban is incredible at revenge games.


TLDR Malzahn is probably the only AU coach I've ever had respect for and will keep Auburn competitive for years to come, but he won't win the SEC west next year or the majority of his years there.