This is set to be the golden age of Auburn football.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,680]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

[Dom1ni0n 51]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

[AU64 10,122]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

Keep in mind that the majority of Gus's team is a year older and a year wiser in the ways of running his offense.

In reality I guess there is no offense for which their is not a defense that will work... some of the time. But I agree with Red...it's not about defending some static offensive approach from Gus...and with the speed of our offense, the opposing D only has to make a mistake once or twice in a series....and the ball has moved 30 yards down the field.

Let 'em study....that's what the game is about.

[Dom1ni0n 51]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

Keep in mind that the majority of Gus's team is a year older and a year wiser in the ways of running his offense.

In reality I guess there is no offense for which their is not a defense that will work... some of the time. But I agree with Red...it's not about defending some static offensive approach from Gus...and with the speed of our offense, the opposing D only has to make a mistake once or twice in a series....and the ball has moved 30 yards down the field.

Let 'em study....that's what the game is about.

I too agree with Red's post. Many a conference rival fans have all repeated the same blurb in some fashion or another since the end of the '09 season of how defenses would eventually 'study an adapt to Malzahn's schemes' . So yeah, let 'em study and eat cake.

True enough, a lot of the personnel returns, more importantly at QB (which of course is a first for Gus in the college ranks). Still, I would like to see his record improve against Mad Hatter, and overall Auburn reverting back to beating LSU more consistently. In only two recent wins over LSU, one dates back to the Tuberville era. That must change.

[hutchids 227]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

Keep in mind that the majority of Gus's team is a year older and a year wiser in the ways of running his offense.

In reality I guess there is no offense for which their is not a defense that will work... some of the time. But I agree with Red...it's not about defending some static offensive approach from Gus...and with the speed of our offense, the opposing D only has to make a mistake once or twice in a series....and the ball has moved 30 yards down the field.

Let 'em study....that's what the game is about.

I too agree with Red's post. Many a conference rival fans have all repeated the same blurb in some fashion or another since the end of the '09 season of how defenses would eventually 'study an adapt to Malzahn's schemes' . So yeah, let 'em study and eat cake.

True enough, a lot of the personnel returns, more importantly at QB (which of course is a first for Gus in the college ranks). Still, I would like to see his record improve against Mad Hatter, and overall Auburn reverting back to beating LSU more consistently. In only two recent wins over LSU, one dates back to the Tuberville era. That must change.

And that tuberville win was ugly. I think it was like 10-6. The key to beating bama and lsu more consistently is all about the pass. If we can get the intermediate patterns down and drop the ball, we will be able to win more consistent against them.

[BJ17 0]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

That's the thing. John Chavis is one hell of a DC. That man can seemingly scheme against anything when he has good enough athletes. Look at what he did to Johnny Manziel. LSU lost experience but they still have raw talent across the roster. Even though they beat AU last year I have a feeling this will be their game of the year beside maybe Bama.

[Rednilla 5,391]

I have several friends from other schools that have proudly professed that their dc's have been studying our offense all off season and watching what worked against us and what didn't, in detail - especially how lsu defends us and how we sometimes struggled after half time adjustments.

I agree that if we do exactly what we did last year it will be difficult to be as successful. However, what's wonderful about Gus' offense is that it has so many dimensions - and we probably showed only 40% last year - we're about to open up a new facet. It'll probably be a decade before its truly "figured out". And by then Gus will be on to ver "2.0" .

ROTFL!!! Your friends from other schools don't know what they are talking about then, because there's no secret to the offense Malzahn runs. It's a Wing T-based option/play action offense. It's been around for decades.

The thing about it is Gus doesn't remain stagnant. He prods defenses for weaknesses and exploits them. Sometimes he has to bait them into it. Others he notices a tendency, and designs a package to exploit that tendency. And then sometimes an offensive line will start dominating so much that you can just run the same play over and over, and the defense can't stop it, so you keep running it.

It's a chess match. Gus knows that. Defensive Coordinators in the SEC know it.

Average fans? Not so much.

Well if that's the case than it looks like defenses are going to have to simply out-athlete Gus and this offense.

Alabama has the most athletes on defense year in and out, and is 2-2 vs Malzahn (including the atrocity that was 2011)

The same can be said for LSU, a team Malzahn has struggled with, which is why it is my biggest question mark game on the '14 schedule.

On paper, it should be a W when factoring in experience and home field edge, however they have enough athletes on defense that can neutralize both advantages.

Keep in mind that the majority of Gus's team is a year older and a year wiser in the ways of running his offense.

In reality I guess there is no offense for which their is not a defense that will work... some of the time. But I agree with Red...it's not about defending some static offensive approach from Gus...and with the speed of our offense, the opposing D only has to make a mistake once or twice in a series....and the ball has moved 30 yards down the field.

Let 'em study....that's what the game is about.

I too agree with Red's post. Many a conference rival fans have all repeated the same blurb in some fashion or another since the end of the '09 season of how defenses would eventually 'study an adapt to Malzahn's schemes' . So yeah, let 'em study and eat cake.

True enough, a lot of the personnel returns, more importantly at QB (which of course is a first for Gus in the college ranks). Still, I would like to see his record improve against Mad Hatter, and overall Auburn reverting back to beating LSU more consistently. In only two recent wins over LSU, one dates back to the Tuberville era. That must change.

In fairness, we should keep in mind that the LSU game last year was only the fourth of Nick Marshall's NCAA tenure at QB (plus his first away from home, in about as hostile an environment as you can get), and the first half of the game was a complete monsoon. Ergo, it took longer than it would have otherwise for Gus to right the ship...and we were a fourth down conversion away from turning it back into a game after having been beaten down so thoroughly in the first half. I suspect we will fare much better against them going forward, even with Chavis as the DC.

[channonc 466]

We will still be depending on our defense to make stops when it counts. We are going to be good but I would start calling this the golden age yet...We need a few years of success.

This sums up my feelings exactly. We need to know we can count on the defense to pull their weight. Lately, that just hasn't happened and could likely make us vulnerable. However, I feel confident that with Gus at the helm, we will at least be competitive in every game we play this year!

[Rednilla 5,391]

We will still be depending on our defense to make stops when it counts. We are going to be good but I would start calling this the golden age yet...We need a few years of success.

This sums up my feelings exactly. We need to know we can count on the defense to pull their weight. Lately, that just hasn't happened and could likely make us vulnerable. However, I feel confident that with Gus at the helm, we will at least be competitive in every game we play this year!

I wouldn't call it the golden age yet, either...but saying that the stage is set for this to be the golden age is perfectly accurate. I mean, think about it. Since Malzahn arrived on the Plains, we had a rebound year in his first season as OC (during which we jumped more than 80 spots in total offense); won the national championship in his second season; lost 24 seniors and 2 juniors, leading one prognosticator to suggest Gene Chizik should be coach of the year if we won more than 6 games (and we won 8); the one season he was gone, the bottom fell out, and Chizik was on the chopping block as a result; then he returns as head coach and takes AU from 3-9 with no SEC wins to 12-2 and mere seconds away from winning another national championship.

So in the previous five years, we've played for the national title twice, won three bowl games, and during the seasons Gus was a part of the team, we've averaged just over 10 wins per year. I'd say there is a very reasonable chance that we are set for a very nice stretch over the next few seasons, regardless, and I can very easily see us becoming a national title contender every year...

There's certainly no reason to count chickens before they hatch, but there IS a great deal of reason to be optimistic!!

[Dom1ni0n 51]

In fairness, we should keep in mind that the LSU game last year was only the fourth of Nick Marshall's NCAA tenure at QB (plus his first away from home, in about as hostile an environment as you can get), and the first half of the game was a complete monsoon. Ergo, it took longer than it would have otherwise for Gus to right the ship...and we were a fourth down conversion away from turning it back into a game after having been beaten down so thoroughly in the first half. I suspect we will fare much better against them going forward, even with Chavis as the DC.

I was more so making reference to the overall struggles against LSU during his seasons at Auburn in response to an earlier poster in the chat line citing Gus's record against bama. Now granted, the final score in last years loss was a bit deceiving, but those previous two games were just plain ewe-gee-ehl-wy. I am aware there were extenuating circumstances in all three contests. However,it would still be great if Gus draws to .500 or better against them; with a few dominating wins sprinkled on top. Besides we're a bit overdue for a comfortable-to-blowout win over the bengals.