With as fast as he works, I’m surprised Gus Malzahn didn’t have the time to process Saturday’s win and what it means for his program immediately after the game.
Here’s the guy who’s already calling the next play before the previous one is even downed. Here’s the head coach who’s two, three, four steps ahead of anyone else when it comes to X’s and O’s.
Here’s the man who chews 40 or more pieces of Dubble Bubble during a game because even his taste buds are running the hurry-up, no-huddle.
But to think about what his team’s huge 45-41 road victory over No. 7 Texas A&M and reigning Heisman Trophy-winner Johnny Manziel means? He just needs more time.
“I hadn’t had time to sit back and think about it other than the fact that I’m just proud of our team,” Malzahn said in the postgame news conference. “We’re going to enjoy this victory, and we’re going to get ready for next week.
“At the end of the year we’ll figure out where we’re at.”
What about right now?
By the time Dee Ford dropped Manziel for the final time, Auburn officially was bowl eligible.
By the time they landed Saturday night, the Tigers were armed with the knowledge they’ll be able to control their own destiny in the SEC West.
By the time most of the players wake up Sunday morning, Auburn should be ranked in the top 15, in not just the AP and/or coaches polls, but in the inaugural BCS rankings.
That’s where Auburn is right now. And it’s only getting better.
“We’re fighting for different things now,” Ford said.
Like a championship, and not just respect.
From where this program was a year ago at this time, the turnaround is monumental. Auburn ended the month of October 2012 suffering its worst home loss of the color-television era as this same Texas A&M team drummed the Tigers to the beat of 63-21.
Manziel and the Aggies racked up 671 total yards on the Tigers last season at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn managed 335, with most of those coming in the second half with Texas A&M halfway on the plane back to College Station.
On Saturday, it was a different team … a different game … a different day. It’s true.
“I was almost in tears after the game,” Ford said. “Seeing the younger guys who didn’t have a clue what was going on last year, that was a tough time for them … And to see the looks on their faces after the game — the heart, the hard work that we put in and how we said we’re not going to look back, we’re going to keep moving forward — we’re not going to look back at last year.
“It’s definitely a powerful message that we have sent to the world.”
But first, the players in the locker room had to believe. The culture had to change, not just the coaching staff.
“The players deserve all the credit,” Malzahn said. “They’ve worked extremely hard. They bought into what we’re doing. They play together, they play for each other. We don’t have any individuals and it’s a fun group to coach right now.”
It’s fun to watch, too.
Auburn has averaged 494.3 yards and 35.9 points per game this season, including 663.5 yards and 53.5 points over the past two games.
Yo.
And while players were quick to point out that “Auburn’s back,” like junior cornerback Jonathon Mincy said after Saturday’s big victory, Malzahn wasn’t ready to name them a top-10 team. Not yet.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll let everybody else decide that. I just know we’re taking it one game at a time. We’ve not arrived yet. We’ve gotten better each week. We want to continue to get better and I think we can if we stay healthy.
“But like I said, we’ll take it one step at a time, then we’ll look back at the end of the year and figure everything out.”
Until then, it’ll be a heck of a ride.
