Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

10/29/2010 at 2:45pm

Birmingham News columnist Kevin Scarbinsky weighs in on Auburn vs. Ole Miss, Houston Nutt vs. Gus Malzahn, and various "what might have beens."

Perhaps you've forgotten that for a few minutes two years ago, Nutt's name was bandied about with the Auburn opening after the Tigers and Tommy Tuberville agreed to split ways.

For that matter, Bobby Petrino's name came up, because Auburn fat-cat booster Jimmy Rane (The Yella Fella of those wood ads) was trying to help find a new coach and not a lot of folks were biting. Rane's company sponsors several Southeastern Conference coaches, and Rane's been a big Petrino fan since 2002 when the coach was an assistant at Auburn. Petrino has a contract that forbids him jumping to another SEC-West team, although back in 2003 he could've been the Auburn coach while finishing up his first year at Louisville.

Nutt was just in his first year at Ole Miss and on a late-season roll, and he'd had pretty good success against Auburn while at Arkansas. Many also think Nutt's name surfaced just to get more money and additional boost to the contracts of his assistants, and if that's the case, that plan succeeded. However, it would have been simply odd even beyond Tuberville's jumping from Ole Miss to Auburn (one year after Tubby lost out to Nutt for the Arkansas job) if Nutt had done it after just one season in Oxford. Nutt would have made Petrino and Nick Saban look stable in their job hopping.

But this week, it's all about Nutt on one side and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn on the other. Though everyone knows Nutt ultimately calls the plays for the Rebs, can you even name the Ole Miss designated offensive coordinator? Malzahn is talked about more than Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. Malzahn, as fanhouse.com writer Clay Travis described him earlier this week, is the Tigers' coaching rock star (alonside playing rock star Cameron Newton). I guess that would make Chizik sort of the Tigers head roadie - just the equipment up on stage on time and all in order.

Arkansas fans know well the Nutt vs. Malzahn story from 2006. Some people get it right, writing about it four years later. However, others don't. Chris Low of ESPN.com seems to only have Nutt for a source on everything and likes to repeat, over and over, such inaccuracies as that the "Springdale parents" meeting with Frank Broyles to complain that the offense Nutt was running and not what was promised. Even Broyles has said the Springdale parents didn't talk specifics about the football team and what offense was being run, but rather had concerns about academics and other issues. The alleged complaints about not running Malzahn's offense was Nutt's sham explanation of that meeting and he wasn't in the room.

Anyway, look at what type of offense Malzahn is running now. Auburn is running for 400-plus yards against the likes of LSU in Malzahn's offense. Malzahn even addressed some conjecture that "this isn't his offense" with us before the Arkansas-Auburn game, noting that he builds his offense around the abilities of the quarterback. Lumping Malzahn into a "pass-only" label was wrong from the start at Arkansas. Can anybody say "wildcat"? Oh yeah, Danny invented that, for Peyton Hillis.

Sarbinsky wonders what these current Tigers would be like if Nutt had been hired in Auburn two years ago. Surely not 8-0 and No. 1. He doesn't calll Nutt the "quarterback killa" but he says Cam Newton would more likely have ended up running wild at Starkville. Imagine that. Scarbinsky doesn't add, also, that Nutt would likely have been able to bring in former Oregon standout Jeremiah Masoli to Auburn, just as he did for the Rebels. Maybe he's no Newton, but the Tigers would be pretty good with him. LSU's Tigers would be very good with Masoli. But we digress.

Gotta love some of this rehash and reminding, though:

Volumes have been written about Nutt and Malzahn and a relationship that should've been dissected by Dr. Phil, not Dr. Lou. We've been told that Nutt didn't really want to hire Malzahn as his coordinator at Arkansas in 2006, but Nutt did want to sign his Springdale (Ark.) High quarterback, Mitch Mustain, and some of his teammates.

It didn't take long for that package deal to unravel, but it's worth noting that Nutt enjoyed his only 10-win season as a Division I-A head coach with Malzahn on his staff, even if Nutt didn't totally enjoy it. (AS360.com emphasis on this paragraph).

The Hogs went 10-4 that year. Gave undefeated and No. 2 Auburn its first loss. Got to 10-1 and No. 5 in the nation themselves before losing their last three games.

Malzahn may not look at it this way, but he owes Nutt a debt of gratitude. Despite his reluctance to do it, despite his reasons for doing it, Nutt gave Malzahn his first job as a college assistant.

One year at Arkansas led to two years at Tulsa. Two years at Tulsa led to two years at Auburn. Who knows where two years at Auburn may lead?

Clay Travis earlier this week also suggested Auburn should make Malzahn co-head coach with the defensive-minded Chizik. A form of that isn't working with the Dallas Cowboys, where they pay their players and it's a business; so how could it succeed at a fine institution like Auburn?

We've got to believe, though, that eventually the "underling" being the rock star will have to break up the happy family Chizik has assembled on the Plains. After all, Lionel Ritchie didn't form the Commodores, but that gang from Alabama's Tuskegee Institute eventually saw the group's brand tumble when Ritchie became the individual star outshining the others.

All that said, Nutt has Auburn in a couldn't-ask-for-anything-better trap-game setting, at home, with the Tigers coming off back-to-back emotional weekends (and wins) at Auburn. Nutt can usually be counted on for one stunning win a year, especially when it appears he's down. Ole Miss came on in the second half and got better at Arkansas last week, an eventual 38-24 Hog win in Fayetteville. The Rebels and Jeremiah Masoli are getting closer on offense. Auburn's passing game may not scare the Rebels' defense as much as Arkansas, and Rebels defensive coordinator Ty Nix will have a good plan for Newton.

On just any given Saturday, Auburn would win this game by at least a touchdown or two, even in Oxford. But games are also dictated by the circumstances leading up the them. Auburn is ripe to be taken by a coach who has specialized in such upsets. If nothing else, I wouldn't bet the house on Auburn covering the spread.

Ole Miss was equally set up last year to be beaten by an eventual 8-5 Auburn team, and went down hard after hitting a high to beat Arkansas at home. These things tend to cycle back.

Tagged: Birmingham News, Auburn Tigers, Gus Malzahn, Houston Nutt, Kevin Scarbinsky, Clay Travis, Chris Low, Ole Miss Rebels