Gus Malzahn: Nick Marshall has not 'regressed' as passer

AUBURN –Nick Marshall's poor passing performance in Auburn's pummeling of San Jose State has some Tigers fans anxious the senior signal caller has taken a step back.

After the 59-13 onslaught of the Spartans, Marshall said he played "great" but admitted "there was a couple of throws I know I could have made." The Auburn starting quarterback was just 10-for-19 for 101 yards with one touchdown, with several off-target throws.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn reiterated he was "pleased" with how Marshall played in Saturday's game, saying defensive pressure was to blame on at least two occasions.

"I don't think he's regressed at all," Malzahn said during his appearance on the Tiger Talk radio program on Monday. "There's two times that I know for sure that we'd have completed balls but we got a little pressure in his face. He couldn't quite step up.

"The one to C.J. (Uzomah), that we kind of back shouldered to C.J., he made a really good throw considering he couldn't step into it. The other one he scrambled to his right because the protection broke down from the right side and he hit Melvin Ray, and would have been a tough catch but it's catchable. I feel good about where he's at. He'll improve as the year goes on."

Marshall had four games in which he threw for under 100 yards last season, with Auburn winning all of them – Washington State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama – though the talk all offseason was about his development as a passer.

In a very limited early season sample size, Marshall is just 14-for-25 (56 percent) for 151 yards with one touchdown, though he has no interceptions. He completed 59.4 percent of his passes last season.

Malzahn said the offense was going to work on the "timing on our passing game" during practice before playing at No. 19 Kansas State on Sept. 18, but downplayed the significance of a high number of passing yards.

"From a coaches' standpoint it's passing efficiency," Malzahn said. "That's what you're concerned about: how efficient are you when you throw the football? That's more important than yards. … They'll be games that we'll have to throw for a lot of yards, and I believe we can."

Marshall's passer efficiency rating has also dropped from 143.2 last season, the best among returning SEC quarterbacks, to 119.9 so far this season, which would rank 12th in the SEC and 82nd nationally if Marshall played enough to quality statistically.

The running game is clearly Marshall strength, though he had a fumble at the goal line to go along with his 103 rushing yards and one touchdown against the Spartans.

The turnover stuck with both the quarterback and coach after the lopsided win.

"Overall, I take away the fumble," Malzahn said. "That's what really stuck in my mind after the game, we got to correct that."