Minnesota Post-Game Thread

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

39 minutes ago, Farmer Brown said:

 

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Auburn was denied a rare 10-win season on Wednesday, falling to Minnesota, 31-24, in the Outback Bowl to open up 2020. The Tigers finished the year 9-4 overall.

Gus Malzahn met with the media after the game to review the loss and what went wrong for Auburn. Below is a full transcript of Malzahn’s remarks.

GUS MALZAHN

OPENING STATEMENT: "First of all, I think I need to start out by giving Minnesota and their head coach, P.J. Fleck, congratulations and credit. They’re a very good football team. We knew that before we played them. After you play somebody, you have more information.When you look at the game, we started out, I think we went up 10-0, had momentum, felt pretty good. I think we had a fumbled punt, they scored. It was tied at halftime.Of course, the second half, it was really a dogfight back and forth. Bottom line is they made plays. They made plays to win the game when the game was on the line. You have to give them credit.

 

You look at it, you have to give them credit. We didn’t overlook them. I think our guys were ready to play. I think our guys played hard. They made the plays we didn’t.Really appreciate our seniors. They just did an outstanding job their whole career. I’m disappointed for them that we couldn’t get them out with a victory.

They led us today, played extremely hard.When I look at the game, they did a really good job of keeping the ball away from us. They stayed on the field. I know the first half, offense didn’t have the ball very many plays. Of course, offense didn’t make very many first downs.When I look at the stat sheet, what stands out to me is 53 plays. They kept the ball, waited until the play clock had about five seconds or less on it. They shortened the game. They had an excellent game plan. They were able to execute.I look at us, the third downs, 3 of 11. We’ve been solid all year. 53 plays, you’re not going to beat very many people with that.But I got to give them credit. I’m very disappointed that we couldn’t send our seniors out. Bottom line is they outplayed us and out-coached us. They deserved to win today. That’s just really the facts of the matter.Questions.

 

Q. (On the balance of building for next year versus winning a bowl game.)

GUS MALZAHN: It’s not a hard balance. The bottom line is your goal is to win a bowl game. When you’re playing a team that won 10 games, you got to play well. We’re focused on winning. I mean, when you’re back home, you start getting the young guys. When you get here, you focus on winning the game.We used the same formula we did last year. Like I said, you got to give them guys credit. They’re a really good team.

Q. (On Minnesota’s domination in the running game.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah. 215 yards rushing against our defense, that surprised me. We only had 56. That surprised me, too. They got after us up front. I mean, I just think that’s the facts of the matter.

Q. (On the offense not developing a rhythm.)

GUS MALZAHN: I think that’s fair to say. I think the first quarter, I don’t know how many plays we had in the first quarter, I think we may have had six or seven. Somebody may have the stat sheet. It wasn’t very many.The second quarter, I don’t think we had much more than that. They did a good job of staying on the field, too. Like I said, the offense, we didn’t get very many first downs early to stay on the field. I think it was a combination of both. The volume of plays in the first half, it wasn’t very much for us.

 

Q. What was your plan on offense and did you want to take shots down the field?

GUS MALZAHN: I mean, they played loose. I think everybody could see that. At the same time I think we called four or five or six shots. Couple of them we had a little protection breakdown. A couple of them we kind of under-threw, whatever.I mean, any time you put up 232 yards offense on 53 plays, I mean, we got to do better than that. But give them credit. They had a good plan. They did a good job of trying to keep things in front, stayed away from the big play.

Q. (On what Minnesota did to stop them on offense.)

GUS MALZAHN: There was a few little wrinkles. It was more of lining up and getting after us more than anything. Just the fact of the matter.

Q. (On Minnesota double-teaming Derrick Brown.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I mean, Derrick Brown got double-teamed all year and tripled. He’s a dynamic player. He’s one of the best players in all of college football. That’s what smart coaches do. I’m sure that happened again today.

 

Q. (On the decision to try a fake punt.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I liked it. It wasn’t really open, but the guy had his arms around the guy when the ball is in the air. I don’t know. They didn’t call it. That’s just part of it.Yeah, I mean, we’re trying to win the game. We’re going to be aggressive. That didn’t work out. If I remember right, I don’t think they scored. I think we held them on fourth down as far as that goes.We’re trying to be aggressive and win the game. It could have been easily called an interference, too. We would have had a first down in field goal range.

Q. (On Outback Bowl MVP Tyler Johnson and how he compares to receivers in the SEC.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I mean, he’s a good player. Not just him, I mean, they’re a good team. They got good players. We knew that coming in. They won 10 games in their conference. Their coaches had a super game plan. They executed it. They were a physical team, too.

Q. How hard do you look at the offense in the off-season? What do you have to do in the off-season?

 

GUS MALZAHN: Two-year trend?

Q. Yes.

GUS MALZAHN: You’re talking about this year?

Q. Yes.

GUS MALZAHN: I’d say this year I think we finished, if I remember right, third in our conference in total offense, fourth in points. It was solid.This game we’re disappointed, and we should be. But we’ll rebound. Chad Morris, I’m very excited about him and his future. I feel like he’s one of the best. Like I said, after this bowl game, we’ll put our heads together. He’s going to have great influence.We’ll get better. We didn’t play our best. Like I said, you have 53 plays you’re not going to be very good.I will say this. This year I felt like we did some good things offensively. I don’t think that’s accurate as far as the total assumption of this year.

Q. (On Auburn struggling to find a rhythm on offense.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I mean, we got in some rhythm some, but then we’d have a negative play. Bottom line, our third downs, like I said, we were 3 of 11. When you don’t convert third downs, everything is out of rhythm. That had a lot to do with it today.We had a couple opportunities on third downs that I would have liked us to have executed better. I think we would have picked it up. We didn’t get it done on third down, so it took away the rhythm, and it caused us to have 53 plays on offense.

 

Q. (On first down play calling.)

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I don’t know what it was, but I think we mixed it up decent on first down. Yeah, I mean, when you have negative plays, you definitely want to stay out of that, whatever gives yourself a chance to be successful.

Q. On Tyler Johnson’s 73-yard touchdown, what did you see?

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I think they had a little post. I think we kind of messed up on one of our coverages there. The guy came Scot free. Quarterback put it out in front. They were able to run the football effectively, too. When you do that, their RPO game, play-action, is more effective.I think the big one was late in the game. They were running the ball decent. They got us over the top. Executed that play. That was the difference in the game.

Q. (On how you evaluate the season.)

GUS MALZAHN: 9-4 with the schedule we played, obviously if we won this game, I would feel completely different. There were some good things we did. We did play the toughest schedule in college football. Me personally, I don’t think it’s close.I’m proud of our players, I’m proud of our seniors. But, I mean, we’re disappointed right now. But there were some really good things that happened during the season that we can build upon, have a chance to be a really good football team next year.

 

Q. How much will this season help quarterback Bo Nix?

GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I mean, Bo, he’s going to win a championship for us before he gets out of here. Went up against the toughest schedule in football as a true freshman. He learned. He’s going to be a great quarterback for us. More than that, I think he’s going to be a great leader for us. Those are my expectations. I’m glad he’s our quarterback. He’ll have a very good clear.

Q. New Year’s resolutions?

GUS MALZAHN: I mean, I’m thinking about right now. I’m just disappointed. We’ll be able to take it, kind of evaluate as coaches, look at the whole year. I said there were some good things that happened. We’ll turn the page for next year. I’ve not gotten that far.

Q. Do you expect your entire staff to return?

GUS MALZAHN: I mean, I expect. You never know, but I expect.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

 

I'm not reading that wall of text.  For anyone who did, is the future bright?

[aubiefifty 16,755]

15 minutes ago, ChltteTiger said:

Try IGGY then you won't have to engage in arguing with a brick wall.

waves

[Farmer Brown 2,391]

It was actually just poking a little fun. I never read it myself.

[Auburn Kev 1,653]

9 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

I definitely saw him on the field. I, however, do not know if he saw or noticed or participated in any of the action. I could say the same about Newkirk and Truesdall also.

Newkirk and Walker saw a lot of action today

 

[PigskinPat 2,579]

1 minute ago, dyehardfanAU said:

I'm not reading that wall of text.  For anyone who did, is the future bright?

I was wondering the same thing. If he didn’t during this press conference, just wait. It’s coming.

[hutchids 227]

14 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

 

Pj, do you still need an oc? Cause I'll volunteer gus for that job every day of the week

[ChltteTiger 649]

3 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

I'm not reading that wall of text.  For anyone who did, is the future bright?

For gaining talented players: YES For developing talent and putting them in best position to win: NO

 

Aah I see now what you did there lol

[yngwie1995 2,229]

12 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

I'd be interested to see what he does early next year.  He's still a freshman so I can give him some leeway.  Morris has a long record of good QB development.

I hope you're right! 

(I seem to remember hearing similar things about Scott Loeffler, too.)

[jAUSon 2,836]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

did you not jump some cat when another poster wanted tekeo to tackle gus implying he wanted him hurt?? i mean lets be real here a minute. the poster that made the tackling comment because if he threatens gus he would get run off. you decided to agree with him and i decided to say something about it.........

Looked like a generic wise-crack fishing for lol's to me. Go get a beer man.

[ChltteTiger 649]

2 minutes ago, jAUSon said:

Looked like a generic wise-crack fishing for lol's to me. Go get a beer man.

Fifty needs a lot more than a beer. Apparently the weed isn't getting it done,

[Dan-0 479]

Please, nobody post any comments from CGM right now. I can´t stand to listen to the meaningless crap he spews, especially after a game like this. 😉

[Randman5000 4,226]

32 minutes ago, twilli13 said:

Me too. Frankly, he keeps saying that but I just dont see a game breaker at qb. Gus either needs a game breaker Cam Newton type or a star studded supporting cast with a really solid sometimes spectacular qb with a good defense to win big. Nix is heady for a freshman but I'm not seeing the game breaker thing. I expect with a 5 star qb we could push the ball down the field way better than we did today and in several other games this year, but it was mostly dink and dunk. 

Agreed. And if you watch the playoff games the Clemson, Ohio St and LSU offensive line protected their QB well, and playcalls to get the ball to their gamebreakers. Ohio St had a really really good championship caliber offensive line. They surrounded their first year QB with good playmakers and allowed him to be a good position to win games. 

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

did you not jump some cat when another poster wanted tekeo to tackle gus implying he wanted him hurt?? i mean lets be real here a minute. the poster that made the tackling comment because if he threatens gus he would get run off. you decided to agree with him and i decided to say something about it.........

Let's get serious here snowflake. That poster was me and if you really believe I wanted Gus hurt you are a complete moron.  And, I think your copy and paste posts from AL.com are annoying and clutter up the football forum with useless drivel and should be put in the media section for people that wish to read them there instead of on al.com directly. Watch the first part of the youtube below and you can hopefully see what I wanted to see in my mind about having Takeo Spikes tackle Gus when he does the same stupid crap he has done for at least 7 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94

[AUsince72 11,084]

30 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I realize this is a sensitive subject and I might be the only one...but I've lost confidence in Bo.....13 games and making the same bad decisions....still missing open receivers or not even seeing them.    

You mean you're not going to give Bo 7+ years to keep doing the same bad things that never change?  That don't hardly seem fair....and Bo ain't stealing $7M per year either.  

[cole256 17,043]

19 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

I'm not reading that wall of text.  For anyone who did, is the future bright?

We had a good week of practice so this is surprising

[GwillMac6 20,666]

Lol wuuut?

[aubiefifty 16,755]

Just now, oracle79 said:

Let's get serious here snowflake. That poster was me and if you really believe I wanted Gus hurt you are a complete moron.  And, I think your copy and paste posts from AL.com are annoying and clutter up the football forum with useless drivel and should be put in the media section for people that wish to read them there instead of on al.com directly. Watch the first part of the youtube below and you can hopefully see what I wanted to see in my mind about having Takeo Spikes tackle Gus when he does the same stupid crap he has done for at least 7 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94

naw you had to get that insult in before you asked me to do something. and as much hate some of you show for gus who am i to question the worst? beside gus is pretty much an old man right? but i am sure you are pretty special so its ok.

[johnnyAU 3,630]

Gus less prepared than the opposing coach with multiple weeks to prepare? What is this madness? Oh yeah, it's called normal. 

[cole256 17,043]

1 minute ago, AUsince72 said:

You mean you're not going to give Bo 7+ years to keep doing the same bad things that never change?  That don't hardly seem fair....and Bo ain't stealing $7M per year either.  

Nah we 're not going to put this on Bo. I tried to tell everybody that Bo wasn't a super star right now. Just because fanatics are loopy with expectations and blaming other players for mistakes of another doesn't mean in the end it's on him for not living up to unrealistic expectations in the first place. 

Gus gave him the reigns, held his hand,ran the other QB off. So it's not Bo's fault.....he did everything he was supposed to do in the situation he was in.

[AU64 10,122]

37 minutes ago, CCTAU said:

It doesn’t matter how you feel. Gus loves him. Therefore any QB who transfers in will be sitting. 

That could be....but I keep thinking he wants to win...

[GwillMac6 20,666]

Cristobal is 2-0 in bowl games at Oregon. With 1 Rose bowl win and a 9 win and 12 win season. Is that good enough to meet Mikey's criteria to be worthy enough for AU to hire him!?!?! Hahaha.

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

6 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

You mean you're not going to give Bo 7+ years to keep doing the same bad things that never change?  That don't hardly seem fair....and Bo ain't stealing $7M per year either.  

Bo should've been able to RS this season if Gus just ran a competent program.

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

Just now, GwillMac6 said:

Cristobal is 2-0 in bowl games at Oregon. With 1 Rose bowl win and a 9 win and 12 win season. Is that good enough to meet Mikey's criteria to be worthy enough for AU to hire him!?!?! Hahaha.

Fools like @Mikey trying to crap on Cristobal just show they don't really know as much about football as they think they do.

[au701948 998]

4 hours ago, AuMarine said:

That is what was so shocking... I expect the stupid crap calls and plays on offense but the defense... that was BAD 

I agree. I do not know, BUT I do know it was truly embarrassing and a low point for us a fans.

[Farmer Brown 2,391]

17 minutes ago, Dan-0 said:

Please, nobody post any comments from CGM right now. I can´t stand to listen to the meaningless crap he spews, especially after a game like this. 😉

I just did that cut and paste from AL.com, to aggravate Aubfifty. He does that a lot. I like fifty, he just doesn't need to lecture me like I am a kid, because I don;t like Gusto.