This Saturday, the Auburn Tigers will travel to Gainesville to take on No. 10 Florida, a team they have not played on the road since 2007.
The midseason battle with the Gators marks Auburn’s seventh-year head coach Gus Malzahn’s first trip to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, better known as The Swamp. However, despite having never played in the notorious hostile environment, the matchup will bring to Malzahn a familiar face: second-year Florida head coach Dan Mullen.
Mullen and Malzahn are far from strangers with one another.
Prior to Mullen taking of the head coaching job at Florida, the two coaches were accustomed to playing one another. While coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Mullen often gave Malzahn’s Tigers a run for their money, and earned the respect of Auburn’s head coach while doing so.
This Tuesday, Malzahn spoke highly of Mullen and his Gators.
“A typical Dan Mullen offense,” Malzahn said. “Running the ball effectively. Their quarterback has one of the best completion percentages in all of college football. Just a very solid team.”
Malzahn continued to praise Mullen, while noting that the two have known each other for a substantial amount of time.
“I really enjoyed getting to know him,” Malzahn said. “Like I said, our paths crossed. We faced each other numerous times.”
Before redirecting his comments to strictly Auburn football, Malzahn concluded his conversation regarding Mullen by saying by complimenting his coaching style.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Dan — the way he goes about it,” Malzahn said. “I think he’s one of the good guys and does things right. His teams are always well prepared, and he’s a very good football coach.”
Despite knowing each other since 2005, Malzahn and Mullen have only faced off as head coaches a total of five times — all during Mullen’s tenure at Mississippi State.
Malzahn leads in the series, 3-2.
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