During any football game at any levels, coaches and teams should have one of two mindsets.
99 percent of the time they should be doing everything possible win the game. The other 1 percent of the time they need to accept that they’ve lost and simply try to get the game over while giving some backup players some experience.
Gus Malzahn did neither in the Iron Bowl.
Trailing by 36 points in the fourth quarter, Auburn’s starters went on a methodical 93-yard scoring drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. Then they didn’t attempt an onside kick.
They eventually got the ball back again. And again, the starters remained in the game but showed no urgency in trying to score the four more times needed for the unlikely comeback.
The madness started when Malzahn called for a 56-yard field goal down 22 points with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. A make there would have lifted Auburn from four scores down to ... four scores down.
The Tigers did play the Tide even for the final 19 minutes of the game and even won the final 13 minutes 7-0.
That late effort made the game look more respectable, but reality was exactly the opposite.
Gus Malzahn needs to Tighten Up and realize there are no rewards for making a game look closer than it really was.
For Threaded Fasteners I’m Randy Kennedy with Tighten Up.