OK, so we’ve all seen some of the staggering statistical factoids to come out of the first two games of Auburn’s Gus Malzahn era: that Auburn currently has the top two rushers in the SEC, that it’s the first time in 29 years Auburn’s gone over 500 yards in back-to-back games, that–holy crap–Auburn is second in the country in rushing yards, behind only Air Force. But maybe most impressive is where they rank in straight up total offense. Behold: (UPDATE: OK, I can’t figure out how to let you blow up the screencap. But if you click that link, you can see what I’m looking at.)
Yep, that’s Auburn’s checking in at 4th, a year after they finished 104th in total offense.
But not all the totals here on top of the offensive leaderboard are created equal, are they? Doing it for two weeks is a little different from doing it for two. And doing it against I-AA cuppity-cakes is a little different than doing it against D-I competition. We can agree on that, right?
So, what this table looks like if you eliminate teams that have only played one game or played one against a I-AA team:
Yeah, I’m just going to come right out and say it: it might be only two weeks into the season, but through those two weeks Auburn has put together the best offensive performance in the country. (UPDATE: You probably can’t see it unless you save the pic and open it elsewhere, but the top 5 teams after the eliminations are Auburn, Toledo, Texas, Utah, and … um … those are top 4.)
Auburn. Chris Todd at quarterback. Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery at wide receiver. A true freshman splitting carries at tailback. Mario Fannin out at H-back. An offensive line that spent 2008 doing little more than getting in its own way. The fourth offensive coordinator in three years.
And from those ingredients, yes, the best offensive performance in the country through two weeks.
Gus Malzahn is a freaking genius, man.
My question – why isn’t Auburn ranked? Who is paying attention to these details? Certainly not those who hold firm to voting North Carolina 19th in the nation after they could only garner 35 yards rushing to beat Conneticut by only a safety.
This is why I despise the entire polling process, especially in the early season.
Sullivan013
Agreed. I don’t know why they can’t release a preseason poll for hype reasons (if they feel they have to) and then wait four weeks or so.
My current favorite polling fun fact: 1-1 Oklahoma St. is ranked ahead of the Houston team that just beat them in Stillwater in both polls. The coaches have the Pokes at 17 and Houston outside of the poll. That’s fair.
The only reason I care about polls is that ESPN et. al. tend to show more highlights and, you know, actually talk about the teams in the top 25, so that would be nice for AU. Other than that, forget about it! If we keep doing what we do, the votes will come.
The things that most impress me about Malzahn so far are;
1. Every other play tricks the camera man, and when it doesn’t I still have trouble following the ball? It’s a little annoying, but I’ll let it slide
2. With a few exceptions, it’s humming like a well oiled machine. I watch a lot of football, and even the NFL teams have a few first week hiccups, while most CFB teams have many. AU is obviously a very well coached team, which is a testament to not just Malzahn but all our coaches. Man, what a difference a year makes.
Shhhhhhhh! Don’t jinx it dude.
Anybody think I should call up Tubbs on WJOX tomorrow morning and ask if the jury is still out on Gus Malzahn? Better yet I should ask him to reimburse $100 per Auburn fan from his buyout for making us watch that regurgitation he called an offense in 2008
Yet more proof that he is indeed Gustav the Mad Scientist of Football. This is the name I shall call him from this day forward.
Kudos on picking up on the Ok. St. ranking debacle. I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that travesty. The voting powers that be are clearly too concerned with believing they had it all sorted out before a down was played in 2009 to actually watch what’s going on in the games and reward/punish teams accordingly.
I’m with Marcus – the votes will come if this keeps up. But I didn’t even see a score flash for Auburn-MSU on Game Day Final (much less a highlight). Yet they saw fit to spend ten minutes on ND-Mich.- two teams which may or, I believe more likely, may not be relevant when the final whistle blows on this season. Spread the wealth, man.
I dont like this O. Its not AU football. When they line up and everyone already know what they are about to do by the formation they in which they are alined. That is AU football. Change scares me……..But seriously, lets start a fund to pay Gus whatever he wants so he will NEVER leave.
Regarding the polls..history shows it’s harder to start from the bottom and work your way up than to stay in the top even after ppoor performances….but we just have to perservere and if we really have the horses, we will have the chance to knock off some of those guys ranked above us. An advantage of playing in the SEC is that once the conference season starts for serious, you have plenty of chance to try your game against a ranked foe….and those guys above us will have to beat AU to stay ranked above us.
Meanwhile, the defense is doing pretty well considering the youth and injuries…experience will help the young and time should help some of the injured players get back on the field. IMO, the season is setting up pretty well for us…starting with modest competition gives the team a chance to gather confidence before the heavy lifting starts. WE
Somebody please take this kool-aid away from me. I shouldn’t be drinking this early…
I’m not ready to jump on the bandwagon. We beat La Tech and Mississippi State. These are teams we should beat handily. While it is great to see real offense being played, I want to see it against stronger competition.
WVU will tell us a lot. Win and we’re in the Top 25.
Sorting that chart by # of plays yields another encouraging factoid: AU is tied with Southern Miss for 3rd in # of plays behind Texas and Wyoming.
The staff should have pushed for a few more Fannin carries as he too was real close to breaking 100 yards rushing. How awesome would that have been? Three 100 yard rushers in one game?
92AuburnGrad -
Regardless of whether you think we’re “back” or whatever, last year we would have struggled with both MSU and LTU, possibly even losing to one or both.
If Auburn rolls up 500 yards against West Virginia we’ll be in the top 25, game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Phillip, he got all the garbage time carries. The coaches might have been aware of that … or, more likely, that Fannin hadn’t caught a lot of balls and wanted more touches.
DrZ, Tuberville made those comments about Malzahn when the jury WAS still out: a week before the season started. I’m sure he wouldn’t say the same thing now.
[...] Auburn 17th. Also high on the Tigers: CFN, who has Auburn No. 11 in their latest rankings. Best offensive performance-to-date in the country or not, even I think 11th is a wee bit high given the level of Auburn’s [...]