Malzahn was a legend at the high school level in Arkansas for 14 years. He coached at 3 different high schools and he led all three to state championship games. And it was during his high school coaching days where he developed the “Wildcat” formation. His teams repeatedly put-up huge offensive numbers including a few national school and individual records. Malzahn’s “Wildcat” philosophies were told through his 2003 book and instructional video, “Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy.” It’s safe to say that Malzahn’s informational release changed the way current offensive football, on all levels, is played.

Back in 2006, Malzahn finally broke into the college ranks and was hired by Houston Nutt to be Arkansas’ offensive coordinator. Things appeared to be perfect for Malzahn as he was coaching at the collegiate level in the same state in which people respected him immensely. But the Nutt – Malzahn marriage ended in divorce as their philosophies clashed; Nutt wanted to power run and Malzahn wanted to run and pass at a frenetic pace. Many believe the only reason Nutt hired Malzahn was to get prized quarterback recruit Mitch Mustain to play at Arkansas. Mustain came, but has since transferred to USC where he is 3rd on the depth chart.

For the past 5 years, I’ve been the featured handicapper on a prominent radio show in the Tennessee Valley. And over that time, I’ve made a few really good contacts that are tied into the Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee football programs. During my appearance earlier this week, the host asked me if Auburn + 3 at Tennessee is a mistake. He said he couldn’t believe that Auburn was the underdog, and that he thinks Auburn will steamroll Tennessee. So he asked me my opinion. Without being prepped for this question, the first thing that came to my mind was this.

I said be careful. Just because Auburn is putting-up off the chart numbers like 45 points per game on over 500 yards of offense, you need to consider their opponents. LA Tech and Ball St were overmatched, and both Mississippi St and West Virginia are going through scheme changes. And when gimmicky offenses face solid and fast defenses like they will at Tennessee, they are not effective. Tennessee’s defense has never left Knoxville. Their fast and talented, and don’t forget they just held Florida to 23 points and 323 yards two weeks ago, on the road in a game Florida wanted to win by 50. And he responded back by saying, “Arkansas burnt me getting 18 on Saturday against Alabama. I thought their offense would score. I need to re-think this now because I like Auburn for the same reason.”

After we hung up, I needed to go back and research and see if the numbers proved my thought process correct. And they did. Back in `06 while Malzahn was at Arkansas, his offense averaged 28.9 points per game on 379 yards of offense. The Razorbacks were held to 28 points or less in 8 of their conference games. They were also held to only 14 points on just 287 yards against USC. To show you how little Malzahn’s offense improved, Arkansas averaged 25.7 points per game on 361 yards of offense in 2005, the year before Malzahn arrived. And in 2007, the year after he left, Arkansas scored 37.3 points per game on 450 yards of offense.

Malzahn then took his offense to Tulsa for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In `07, Tulsa averaged 41.1 points per game on 544 yards of offense. They stepped-up in class once and got waxed by Oklahoma 62-21 while gaining less than 400 yards of offense. In `08, they averaged 47.2 points per game on 570 yards of offense. They once again only played one big out of conference game and lost 30-23 at a rebuilding Arkansas team and only had 344 yards of offense.

There’s not much proof there, but the simplest reasoning is often the best. Malzahn’s offense can slice through opposing defenses that are slower and less talented. But when his offense faces a defense that has speed and either equal or better talent, they struggle to move the ball and score points. And this game at Tennessee will be their first real test. It will also be their first road game of the season, and none of the current Auburn players have ever played at Tennessee. Neyland Stadium can get real loud, and calling plays and formations for an offense predicated on a fast pace will be challenging. This is Auburn’s measuring stick. If they get a win by a decent margin and put-up similar offensive numbers as they have so far, then we’ll trust the early season numbers.

And one more tidbit. Despite playing a weak slate of defenses, and being tied with Florida for the best point per game and yards per game in the country, Auburn only ranks 5th (11.6) in SEC conference offensive scoring efficiency based on the yards per point stat. That indicates we’ll see a drop in Auburn’s offensive production as they face SEC defenses every week.

Matty B’s NFL Turnover Turnarounds: There are no qualifying plays this week for the strategy we detailed in last week’s column. Last week’s qualifier was a dud as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were pathetic in their 24-0 loss to the Giants. The Bucs had a grand total of 86 yards of offense, and that’s no misprint. 86 freaking yards of offense. Yikes.

Teams that won the turnover battle went a perfect 13-0 straight-up and against the spread in Week 3 of the NFL. There were 3 games in which the turnovers were even with the favorite covering 2 of those 3.