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A spirit that is not afraid

A recap of Gus Malzahn's eight seasons at Auburn

<p>Gus Malzahn celebrates after Auburn Football vs. Washington on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Ga.</p>

Gus Malzahn celebrates after Auburn Football vs. Washington on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Ga.

Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene announced Sunday that Gus Malzahn was no longer the head coach after eight seasons.

Malzahn’s tenure was filled with mixed emotions, from a National Championship appearance to an appearance in the Birmingham Bowl two seasons later. Let’s take a look back at each of Malzahn’s eight seasons at the helm.


2013

Ah, what to say about the miracle filled 2013 season. The “Kick-Six” and the “Prayer in Jordan-Hare” are moments that will live in Auburn history forever. 

But what was even more miraculous was that this Auburn team was 3-9 the season before and made its way to the BCS National Championship game. 

In December 2012, Auburn announced the hiring of head coach Gus Malzahn. After leaving his job as offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2011 to become the head coach at Arkansas State, Malzahn returned to Auburn as head coach.

Nick Marshall, Tre Mason and Sammie Coates were some of the stars who helped lead Auburn to an SEC Championship and an appearance in the National Championship game. 

This Gus Malzahn team almost rushed their way to a national title but fell short to Florida State.

Auburn finished the season 12-2.

2014

After a national title appearance, expectations were about as high as possible for Malzahn in his second season. 

The 2014 season saw standouts such as Nick Marshall, Sammie Coates and Ricardo Louis return to the Plains. And Auburn looked like they were going to return to the SEC Championship and even make a run at the National Championship. 

Auburn came into the season ranked No. 6 and was ranked as high as No. 2, but losses on the road at Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama saw those title hopes slip away. 

Auburn finished the season 8-5 following a loss to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

2015

Auburn started the season ranked No. 6 with preseason Heisman hopeful Jeremy Johnson starting at quarterback. 

Auburn started the season with a win over a Lamar Jackson led Louisville in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tigers quickly followed that game with an overtime scare against Jacksonville State in Jordan-Hare. 

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The Jacksonville State game was a sign of what was to come as Auburn went 7-6 that season.

The best win that season came in College Station, Texas, against No. 19 Texas A&M. Auburn’s defense shined in that game as they forced 3 interceptions en route to a 26-10 win on the road.

Auburn finished the season with a 31-10 win in the Birmingham Bowl.

2016

The 2016 season was somewhat of a bounce-back that saw Auburn finish its season in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. 

Auburn started the season off against No. 2 Clemson and played three different quarterbacks: Sean White, Jeremy Johnson and JUCO transfer John Franklin III. Auburn could never get any rhythm on offense and lost 19-13. 

Gus Malzahn named Sean White the starter after that game. After naming White the starter, Auburn got on a roll after an 18-13 win against LSU inside Jordan-Hare. Daniel Carlson made six field goals to outlast LSU.

2016 saw Malzahn bring Kevin Steele in as defensive coordinator after Will Muschamp left for a head coaching job.

Auburn finished the season 8-5 with a 35-17 loss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against No. 7 Oklahoma. 

2017

The 2017 season saw much improvement from the season before. Malzahn brought in quarterback Jarrett Stidham, a Baylor transfer, to bring much-needed stability to that position. 

Malzahn led Auburn to wins over No. 1 Georgia and later No. 1 Alabama on the way to an SEC West title. Auburn dominated Georgia 40-17 at Jordan-Hare and followed it up two weeks later with a 26-14 win over Alabama.

Running back Kerryon Johnson led this team on the ground and won AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Auburn finished the season 10-4 with a loss in the Peach Bowl to an undefeated UCF. 

Following this season, Gus Malzahn had his contract renewed with Auburn, making him one of the country's highest-paid coaches. 

2018 

Following a strong 2017 season, expectations were once again high for Malzahn and the Tigers.

This season was much like the 2014 season, with losses at home against LSU and Tennessee. In road losses against Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama, the Tigers struggled to stay in the game. 

Once again, the defense was strong under Steele, but the offense sputtered under Chip Lindsey in his second season as offensive coordinator. 

Auburn finished the season 8-5 following a blowout win in the Music City Bowl against Purdue. 

2019

The 2019 season saw standout defensive linemen Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson return to the Plains. While on offense, Auburn went through a quarterback battle during the offseason that true freshman quarterback Bo Nix won. 

Auburn started the season with a last-second comeback victory over Oregon in Dallas, Texas, at AT&T Stadium. 

Road trips were the enemy of the Nix-led offense in Malzahn’s first season calling plays since 2016. Losses against Florida and LSU were among the losses that season. 

Auburn lost one game at home in 2019 to Georgia as Auburn's offense struggled in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Auburn was shutout for three quarters before making a late comeback in the fourth quarter but fell short 21-14. 

Two weeks later, the Auburn offense scored 48 points to upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl. 

Auburn finished the season 9-4 and made yet another trip to the Outback Bowl, losing to Minnesota.

2020

Auburn started the season at No. 8 and finished the regular season unranked. Auburn suffered blowout losses to Alabama, Georgia and lost winnable games to South Carolina and Texas A&M. 

Auburn’s best game of the season was a 48-11 win over LSU.

The Tigers finished the regular season at 6-4 while playing a 10 game conference-only schedule. 

Following Auburn's win over Mississippi State, Malzahn’s tenure at Auburn came to an end. 

He finished with an overall record of 68-35 over his eight seasons and was 39-27 in conference play. 


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