Gus Malzahn Bret Bielema
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema shake hands at Razorback Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Fayetteville, Ark. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
AUBURN, Alabama -- Feud?
What feud?
Bret Bielema and Gus Malzahn will not break bread any time soon, but as the Arkansas coach told us at SEC Media Days, the rivals are not throwing rocks at each other either.
Have we made too much of this rivalry? Is the blood actually boiling when these two see each other?
The only legitimate feud between the two is the hurry-up, no-huddle debate. Do hurry-up offenses lead to more injuries? Bielema thinks so; Malzahn, who makes his living running an uptempo offense, doesn't see it. No hard scientific data exists proving either man's stance to be correct, and so the issue has taken a back seat -- at least for now -- until the next rule-making year in 2015.
So, why all the chatter? Why all the fuss?
For one, the Auburn coaching staff's roots in Arkansas add depth to the storyline. Most of you already know about the history. Malzahn and assistants Rhett Lashlee, Tim Horton and J.B. Grimes are Arkansas natives. Malzahn is beloved by many in his home state, and some fans in the northwest corner wanted their native son to return home and lead the Razorbacks when Bobby Petrino ran his SEC career and motorcycle off the road in 2012.
Malzahn's availability at the time is still a point of contention among some in Arkansas. In the end, Malzahn left Arkansas State for Auburn and Bielema arrived in Fayetteville with a splash -- and they both did it on the same day, too.
Adding to the volatile mixture is Bielema's sometimes-inadvertent venom. He speaks his mind, offering hot takes and lengthy challenges at nearly every turn. He doesn't care if you agree, but he does want you to hear his voice. The approach rubs opposing fans the wrong way, and his attitude soured some in Wisconsin before he left for the SEC.
His film flap with Auburn last season wasn't necessarily his best moment, but it was classic Bielema. Upset over the lack of a two-point formation on game tape, he complained to the SEC and scribes in Arkansas. Five days later, he decided to run a similar swinging gate play against the Tigers.
The play picked up a first down, and several moments later, with Arkansas threatening near the goal line, Auburn linebacker Anthony Swain, standing in the end zone, mysteriously collapsed to the turf. Bielema and fans cried foul. Malzahn denied any false moves.
Some fans laughed. Some were irritated. Others saw it as nothing more than a bout of gamesmanship between the two rivals.
Malzahn applauded Bielema's decision after the game and repeated himself this week.
"He's a very good coach," Malzahn said. "Look at his track record. He's always been fairly aggressive."
The development over the last year is not so much a rivalry as much as it is a simple difference in philosophy between the coaches. Bielema landing a jab here and there may irritate the fans, but not the coaches. It's how Bielema runs his show. He does it to everyone.
In the end, this "rivalry" between coaches has been entertaining to watch, especially on game days. More importantly, the coaches give us something to talk about.
"All that other stuff is good for storylines, because I know for y'all, six or seven months in advance, you've got to find things to talk about," Lashlee said. "At the end of the day, we're both playing our first conference game and both of us want to be 1-0. All that other stuff doesn't matter unless it affects you on the field -- them executing a play or us executing a play."
The guess here is Malzahn and Co. do not mind the back-and-forth antics on the field. After all, football is supposed to be fun, right?
Brandon Marcello covers Auburn for the Alabama Media Group.