Skeptical is the word I would use after hearing who Auburn would be hiring for the future of the football program.
The thought of having Mario Cristobal at the helm of one of the south’s most renowned football schools was one that still peaks my interest.
But, that interest has cooled a lot over the past few weeks as I feel myself inching toward the Harsin bandwagon, little by little.
Disclaimer: I jumped off after Georgia State. If I was ever on to start with.
All the comparisons to Gus Malzahn at the time flew out of the window when Auburn almost lost to Georgia State, something that not even Malzahn almost pulled off.
However, a lot has changed in the last few weeks.
Harsin proved to be able to accomplish what Malzahn couldn’t in his eight-year tenure, in just half a season.
While this year’s LSU team isn’t really comparable to a few that Malzahn and company had to face, just winning that hard-fought game in a place where Malzahn hadn’t was enough to turn some heads.
Those heads continued turning when Auburn waltzed into Fayetteville to face a hot offense who wanted revenge for last year’s backwards spike, and trounced the home team.
Those heads are all the way around now, as Auburn just held the Heisman frontrunner to 20 points in a game and an interception, all while on the way to scoring 28 points in a single half against SEC talent.
Lane Kiffin was sticking his tongue out at Auburn fans on the sideline with his team trailing while Harsin was setting his team up for a win.
Now, Auburn finds itself in the Top-12 for the first time this season in the latest AP Poll. Something I didn’t think was going to happen this year or even next year.
Harsin took an almost unranked Auburn team with one of the top-five hardest schedules in the nation to a Top-12 rank in all of college football. Not bad for a Boise State coach.
Auburn still has two of its hardest games of the year coming up in the next few weeks with match-ups against Texas A&M and Alabama. A split between those games would be a win in my book.
No matter what happens in the next couple of weeks, Harsin has proved that he can hold his own in the nation‘s best, the SEC.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
