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CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF GAME: AUBURN v LOUISVILLE

September 5, 2015

Gus Malzahn

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Auburn – 31
Louisville - 24

GUS MALZAHN: The atmosphere was unbelievable. You know, it's like a home game. I really appreciate our fans coming out. It was a hard‑fought victory, and we thought it would be. Louisville is a very good team, and we got up and we held on, and our guys found a way to win. We made some mistakes, obviously, and really in all three phases, but we also did some good things, and the great thing about this team is we're young in a lot of areas, we're putting in a new defense, got a lot of new guys touching the ball and we found a way to win, so I'm excited, and I'm excited about our team.

Q. Gus, just assess your defensive line and the pressure they got in the first half, particularly at the defensive tackle.
GUS MALZAHN: That was big. We were harassing their quarterback in the first half and our defense played outstanding. I think the two turnovers, of course we got the first play of the game, took it back, set up a touchdown, and then of course we picked up the fumble for a touchdown. That was a great momentum play, so defense played very good in the first half.

Q. Gus, can you just assess Jeremy Johnson's play and was it first‑day jitters or was there a problem you see there?
GUS MALZAHN: No, I think he was trying to force a few things, just trying to make some plays early on. He's going to be fine. He made some very good plays to help us win, especially down the stretch, the 3rd down and, what, 13 or 12 to Duke, he's going to be fine.

Q. Gus, you didn't target Duke that much. Was there a reason behind that?
GUS MALZAHN: Well, you know, a lot of our plays are reads and certain things like that. They were doubling some, but a lot of our plays are reads and they were leaving other people open.

Q. Can you just kind of address the injuries to Roc Thomas and Carl Lawson and Jovon and all those guys?
GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, we do have some guys banged up. I don't know the extent of all the injuries, but we do have some guys banged up.

Q. Talk about Peyton Barber and the second half that he had, how he kind of led you to that touchdown drive early.
GUS MALZAHN: Well, very excited for Peyton. He's worked extremely hard the last two years, and this is his moment. He came through with flying colors. He ran the ball hard, great ball security, and really carried us in the second half.

Q. Gus, you mentioned your defensive line. How pleased were you with the way your offensive line played, especially as the game wore on?
GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, we were able to start running the football. I thought that was very important. I guess in the second, third quarter right there, third quarter primarily, we got a new right guard that's playing. We rotated our left guards, but we have some depth, but we got a chance to be a very good offensive line I feel like, and they just need to play together more.

Q. Peyton, that's kind of what you've been waiting for. How much fun was that and just talk about getting a win here close to home.
PEYTON BARBER: You know, it was very fun. I texted Coach Malzahn Thursday, I was worried about some things, and he pretty much just told me not to worry about it and stay focused and be ready for the game.

Q. Peyton, was it a concern when you saw that lead dwindle down?
PEYTON BARBER: Not really. That's all a part of football. Coach Malzahn, he always‑‑ he prepares us very well for situations like that.

Q. Gus, five holding penalties, some on running plays. How big a concern is that?
GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, we need to look at the tape. Obviously I think we had a touchdown called back and that was a big momentum play right there, and we had the one at the very end when we were putting the game away. But hey, we'll just look at the film. The great thing is like I said, even before this game, this is a team that will improve, and the key will be that we've got to address our mistakes and we've got to improve them before the next game. I really feel like our players will take hold of that.

Q. You gave up points in the second half. You had a chance to play a ton of those young guys. How important was this kind of game for you?
GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, there was a bunch of young guys, there's no doubt. We played a lot of true freshmen, a lot of red‑shirt freshmen. Great experience. There's nothing better than getting out there. I told our team before the game we're going to find out a lot about our team. We know a lot about the first 22 but the second 22 we've got a lot of question marks. It'll be great for our coaches to see this game and be able to evaluate some things, and it'll be good for the future.

Q. All in all with the defensive performance, if you could on a scale or grade it out, just from what you saw without looking at film, how pleased were you with their performance?
GUS MALZAHN: Well, I thought they did a great job in the first half. In the second half they still did some good things. That freshman quarterback, he's electric now, and he made some plays with his feet. He's going to be tough to deal with.

Q. Peyton, you've waited a long time to make a difference. Just kind of talk about what it meant to you to not only play a lot but be a really big difference in the game.
PEYTON BARBER: Well, you know, it meant everything to me. This is, like you said, what I've been waiting on. I've been praying for things like this to happen, and God has blessed me.
GUS MALZAHN: And I'm going to say this about Peyton: He has waited his turn. He's had a great attitude. He's a fine young man. He's very tough on himself. He's got a chance to be a very good running back. From my standpoint for a guy to have a day like this that really has worked as hard as he could, very pleased.

Q. Gus, talk about the job Carl Lawson did in the first half and how much did it hurt your defense in the second half when he couldn't play?
GUS MALZAHN: Well, Carl Lawson is an impact player. I think you saw that in the first half. When he doesn't make the play, he helps other people make plays. With him being out, obviously there was a difference.

Q. Peyton, can you talk about the big win in the opening game? What does that mean for the rest of the season? Do you think it's a springboard toward better things for the rest of the season?
PEYTON BARBER: I can't really say on that. Roc is still hurt, and I've just got to keep working pretty much. I can't really speak on that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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