ATLANTA -- When Gus Malzahn guided Auburn to the national championship game in his first season as head coach, it was all such a whirlwind.
If not for two stunningly fluky wins, it never would've happened.
This season, it feels like Malzahn and the Tigers really earned it.
With two huge victories in November, No. 4 Auburn (10-2) claimed a spot in Saturday's Southeastern Conference title game against No. 6 Georgia, with a berth in the College Football Playoff surely going to the winner.
"This is a different journey," Malzahn said before putting his team through a walkthrough at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the new $1.5 billion facility that is hosting the SEC championship for the first time.
In 2013, Malzahn's first Auburn team pulled off an improbable win against Georgia when, on fourth-and-18, Nick Marshall threw a 73-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining. The ball was actually overthrown, but a Georgia defender tipped it right into Ricardo Louis' hands to complete the "Prayer at Jordan-Hare."
Of course, that wasn't even the Tigers' most memorable play of the season. In the Iron Bowl, Alabama came up short on a potential game-winning field goal and Chris Davis returned it for a touchdown from the very back of the end zone --- a 109-yard play that will forever to be known as "Kick Six."
"Our 2013 team was outstanding," Malzahn said.
And now?
"We're just in a lot more stable position," he said. "We're in a position that I think we can sustain this type of level for a period of time."
It didn't look that way early on, when the Tigers endured an ugly 14-6 loss at Clemson, giving up 11 sacks and managing just 117 yards. And all hope of reaching the playoff seemed lost after Auburn squandered a 20-point lead at LSU.
"That was some tough times," Malzahn said. "Are we going to fold our tent, or are we going to roll up our sleeves?"
Auburn got back into the mix with a 40-17 rout of Georgia, which was No. 1 in the CFP standings at the time. Last weekend, the Tigers knocked off another top-ranked team, wearing down Alabama for a 26-14 victory that clinched the SEC West title.
"I really like the way we got here," Malzahn said. "The last couple of weeks, we've been peaking."
Georgia, of course, is eager for a rematch against its oldest rival after that dismal performance at Auburn. Adding to the intrigue: the teams played just three weeks ago.
"Not many people get that second opportunity," coach Kirby Smart said Friday. "We're going to find out a lot about our team."
A year ago, after Auburn went 8-5 for the third season in a row, there were questions about Malzahn's long-term future as the Tigers coach. Now, the only questions are how much it might take to keep him from bolting for another job.
Georgia also struggled to an 8-5 finish in Smart's first season, making some folks wonder why the Bulldogs fired longtime coach Mark Richt.
My, how things have changed.
"We learned a lot of lessons our first season, a lot about our players, and I think they learned a lot about us," Smart said. "I don't think we're playing in this game if we don't learn the lessons we learned last year."
Sports on 12/02/2017