Gus Malzahn said it would happen.
As the crowd flooded Pat Dye Field after Auburn’s 26-14 win over top-ranked Alabama, ecstatic students and football players took out any residual emotions — collected from the slow start to the season and Tigers’ second loss at LSU — on the holly bushes lining the student section. Before most of the fans could even get out of the stadium, Toomer's Corner and Samford Lawn were blanketed in toilet paper.
With a blown 20-point lead in Baton Rouge seven weeks earlier, the Auburn head coach told a crowded media room that his team was going to reach the conference championship despite their falling to 5-2 on the season.
“It’s our first SEC loss,” he said in October. “We still control our own destiny. We’ve got to win. We’ve got to win out. That’s what’s on our mind.”
Seven weeks later, Malzahn’s squad has the second-best odds at winning a national championship.
“We’ve been through hell and back, and now, it’s just a beautiful thing we have going on here at Auburn,” defensive back Tray Matthews said.
Before moving forward with any College Football Playoff aspirations, Auburn must first win a rematch of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry in Atlanta Saturday.
Winning twice against the same team in the same season isn’t an easy task.
“Having been in the National Football League, one thing I learned really quick is it’s hard to beat somebody twice in the same year,” defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. “Particularly if they’re a good football team, and if they’re a really good football team, it’s really hard.”
Just three Saturdays ago, Auburn toppled Georgia, then the No. 1 ranked team, before going on to take down then-No. 1 Alabama. Heading into the championship game, the Tigers will have to return their focus to the Georgia running back tandem, Malzahn said.
Bulldog running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined for 28 rushing yards on 20 combined carries in Georgia’s earlier loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The pair are tied for third in the SEC for rushing touchdowns with 13 apiece.
“You’re talking about two of the more talented running backs in the country on the same team,” he said. “You have to stop the run.”
Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson is a “day-to-day deal” after suffering a shoulder injury in the win over the Crimson Tide, Malzahn said. Johnson, who finished the game with 104 yards on 30 carries in addition to a jump-pass touchdown, said he expects to be able to play Saturday.
“I’m working to get back to as healthy as I can be,” he said. “I’ll never count myself out until I’m officially out.”
Malzahn attributes Johnson’s return from injury to both experience and innate toughness.
“He’s not just a veteran guy, he’s one of the better players in college football right now,” Malzahn said. “He’s a great competitor, like I said before. This is a great game and he’ll do whatever he can.”
Johnson is questionable to practice Tuesday, while Malzahn said the running back has improved each day since Saturday’s victory. In preparation for Johnson’s potential absence in Atlanta, Kam Martin will start.
Matthews, a defensive back, who has missed games earlier in the season with his own shoulder injury, expects Johnson to return regardless of pain.
“He’ll be fine,” Matthews said. “It’s the SEC Championship. You’ve got to suck that up.”
Offensive tackle Austin Golson added that, in addition to the championship’s added sense of urgency, mental preparation was just as important.
“It’s the SEC Championship,” Golson said. “If we can’t get mentally ready for that, we don’t deserve to be here.”
With a rematch with Georgia, and a potential spot in the College Football Playoff, Malzahn hopes to rely on quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who he said has improved since Auburn’s loss to then-No. 2 Clemson.
“If you have a chance to win a championship in our league, your quarterback has to play at a high level, and he’s done that so far, and we’ll need it again Saturday,” Malzahn said.
Malzahn added that Stidham’s ability to make every throw has opened up the playbook for offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.
After defeating both top-ranked Georgia and Alabama at home in marquee rivalry matchups, Malzahn said he was impressed at the level his defense was playing, especially his defensive line.
“They are playing at a high level and at times they are dominating,” he said. “If you can control the line of scrimmage and put pressure on the quarterback, then that is as good as it gets.”
Auburn is the 11th ranked defense in the nation, allowing 303.3 yards per game. In its win over the Crimson Tide, the Tiger defense held Alabama scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season.
After earning Auburn’s first Iron Bowl victory since 2013, Malzahn said this team has been more stable than the one that last made the conference championship.
“We got in here Sunday and the team meeting flipped the page,” he said. “They will not be distracted, I will tell you that.”
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