After watching the Auburn offense stall Saturday against LSU, former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi blasted Gus Malzahn over his scheme.
Bo Nix had an atrocious game, which was one of the biggest disappointments in college football Week 9 as a whole. He completed just 15-of-35 passes for 157 yards with one touchdown and one interception, giving the Tigers little chance to win despite a phenomenal defensive effort against Joe Burrow and Co.
Speaking about the offensive effort Monday on the “GM Shuffle” podcast, Lombardi ripped into Malzahn, and took a shot at freshman Nix.
“My man Gus Bus, that’s the worst offense I’ve ever seen,” Lombardi said. “He had no idea how to throw a football. Zero. Zero. All he does is scream at the players, he has no idea how to throw the football. He has no passing game. He may have the best team in the country. He could go play Ohio State and match, because that defense is legit. That defense played a doubleheader on Saturday in the Bayou and they played hard all the way to the bitter end. And yet, they had no help from their offense. He’ll blame it on a rookie quarterback – no, he’s got a bad, bad offensive scheme. It’s horrible.”
Harsh words. And, while there’s probably a more eloquent way to discuss the Auburn offense’s shortcomings, there is a lot of truth to Lombardi’s statements.
Malzahn opened the season on the hot seat. And while the Tigers have won six of eight games, it remains to be seen if he’ll do enough this season to garner some stability long term at Auburn.