If Auburn Misses 2015 Bowl Game, Will Gus Malzahn Be on Hot Seat?

When quarterback Sean White's pass hit the turf at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on the final play in the bottom of the fourth overtime on Saturday, it could have grounded Auburn's bowl hopes as well.

The 4-3 Tigers host suddenly-hot Ole Miss this weekend, travel to Texas A&M the following week and then host Georgia before the only sure-fire win left on the schedule (Idaho) and the Iron Bowl vs. Alabama.

Auburn needs to spring an upset to earn a bowl game and, more importantly, those valuable bowl practices for an evolving defense and its young quarterback.

What if it doesn't happen?

The Tigers were picked to win the conference at SEC media days in August, and a sub-.500 season would place head coach Gus Malzahn on the hot seat in 2016.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

After all, the defense ranks last in the conference in total defense (430.6 yards per game), is awful on third downs (47.4 percent) and has struggled mightily ever since "Buck" Carl Lawson left the first half of the season opener with a hip injury.

That shouldn't happen.

Not with the talent on Auburn's roster and the presence of first-year defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who was supposed to be the magic potion that fixed the team's major lingering problem.

There's been some progress, particularly last week in the 54-46 loss to Arkansas. But not enough to get Auburn over the hump.

"I thought we've improved," Muschamp said, according to Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "We improved a lot playing the run against a very good running team. We battled our butt off, we competed hard in the game and to get ourselves to 24-24 at the end of the game. 

"Statistically, after regulation, it's probably one of our better games, too, so there's a lot of improvement."

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

The offensive issues fall squarely on Malzahn.

While the struggles of quarterback Jeremy Johnson—particularly his inability to read defenses—surprised virtually everybody, the fact that he was woefully unprepared for the starting job despite being groomed for it for two full seasons falls squarely on Malzahn's shoulders.

That's not going to cost him his job this year.

After all, things are much different at Auburn now as opposed to when Gene Chizik lost his job two years after winning the 2010 national title.

Auburn was in the College Football Playoff mix for more than two months last year, has started to generate some offensive momentum with White taking the snaps and redshirt sophomore Peyton Barber toting the rock, and is a far cry from that 2012 team that got shut out in its final two SEC games of the season.

"We're starting to get into a little bit of a groove," Malzahn said on his radio show on Monday night, according to Goldberg. "That comes with explosive plays, and the last two games we've had more explosive plays. When that happens, we get tempo and can get into our pace. The good thing offensively is we have a lot of room to grow."

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Ideally for Malzahn, that growth will continue, Auburn will win at least one of its "toss-up games" in addition to Idaho and that growth will be accelerated during bowl practice.

If it doesn't, though, 2016 could get sketchy.

This is the mulligan year, and if the Tigers miss a bowl game, Malzahn should be coaching for his job when toe meets leather next year.

According to 247Sports, Auburn has had top-10 recruiting classes in each of Malzahn's three recruiting seasons, and it will get White, Barber and a talented group of skill players back. It also has plenty of potential on defense, and that potential should be realized in the second year under Muschamp.

There's no excuse for not contending in the SEC West.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.