Here's Everything Gus Malzahn Said About LSU On Tuesday

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn spoke to the media on Tuesday for this weekly press conference and previewed Saturday's matchup vs. LSU. Here's what he had to say.

Opening statement… “First of all, we are glad to be back home. We are hosting the defending national champions and have had three consecutive tough losses against LSU. If you look back at 2017, we went up 20-0, they had a big punt and got the momentum, and we lost that game. Thinking about 2018, we were up the whole game at home, we had two 15-yard penalties on the last drive, and they kicked a field goal on the last play of the game. Last year was a dogfight all the way down to the end and a tough one to take. I’ll tell you this, our guys are extremely excited and motivated to play this game. 2:30 CBS kickoff and playing at home -- I think it is a really big game. This will be our sixth consecutive SEC game. You look at LSU and you see a team that each week has improved. They are probably playing their best game overall and have a bunch of new guys, like we do, and you can tell they are improving. Last week for us was a big road win. I am really proud of our guys the way that they won that battle and wanted to win. Three out of the four close games, our guys have found a way to win, which I think will help us moving forward.”

On LSU quarterback J.T. Finley… “I was very impressed with the young guy. They ran the football, and he made some good throws in tight coverage. The big thing is that they were able to run the football successfully with Finley at quarterback.”

Challenge of LSU pass rush against your new look offensive line… “There’s no doubt it’s going to be a test. I think they’re leading the league in sacks and they have two guys who can flat-out get after the quarterback, especially on the edge. We’re going to have to do a really good job whether it’s scheme or whether it’s situational. When they pin their ears back and they know it’s pass, they’re very effective and impressive watching them on film.”

On LSU simplifying its defense… “I think you’ve seen that their defense is fine. They’re better each week. They do have a bunch of young guys, new guys, so just trying to get that experience, but they’ve seen that the last couple weeks, they’ve improved. We’ll see what their plan is, but they definitely have improved.”