Auburn's Improved Nick Marshall Will Be Key for the Tigers vs. Mississippi State

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn first saw it early last season.

Malzahn's 2-0 team was down by three to a resurgent Mississippi State squad with less than two minutes remaining. While Auburn's rushing attack, which would dominate the SEC later in the season, had been held in check for most of the game, the passing game had suffered from inconsistencies.

Standing 88 yards away from a potential game-winning score, Nick Marshall showed Malzahn and the rest of college football what he was capable of doing in the clutch.

"The game was on the line at that point, and that’s when we first saw that Nick is very special when the game is on the line," Malzahn said Tuesday in his weekly press conference. "He has answered the bell every time the game has been close. He has that special knack. That was really the first time we saw it."

Marshall connected with his new teammates on five straight passes for 55 yards before a two-yard handoff, an 11-yard scramble and a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah—the first of several heroic plays for a team that soared all the way to the SEC title and a berth in the BCS National Championship Game.

The former junior college transfer's performance on the final drive pushed him to 339 yards against Mississippi State, a career-high mark that still stands today.

Although Marshall hasn't come close to the 300-yard mark again, he is preparing for a highly anticipated rematch with the now-No. 3 Bulldogs as a much better passer than he was in last season's wild finish at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"For Nick personally, he was still learning the offense when we played them last year," Malzahn said. "It was a little bit ugly on the offensive side, and their defense had a little bit to do with that. Nick is light years ahead of where he was last year."

Marshall has thrown for eight touchdowns and just one interception through five games—four times as many scores and one quarter of the picks he had at this point last season.

He has completed several highlight-reel throws this season, from the scramble-and-heave to Quan Bray against Mississippi State to the double move to D'haquille Williams that ended the game at Kansas State. 

"My confidence level is really high right now," Marshall said after the narrow win in Manhattan, Kansas. "Last year, I would've probably flushed out of the pocket on that play. But, this year, I just trust my linemen with everything in me, and I know they trust me. So I just stayed in the pocket and delivered that ball."

For more proof of how far Marshall has come as a complete player instead of just a read-option menace, look no further than Auburn's 41-7 trouncing of LSU last Saturday night.

Marshall completed 11 of his first 13 passes to help Auburn open up a huge 31-7 halftime lead on the Bayou Bengals, who entered the game with the nation's No. 5 pass defense at 130 yards per game.

When Marshall left the rout in the fourth quarter, he had 207 yards, two touchdowns and a 172.68 quarterback rating—his best against an SEC opponent during his time on The Plains.

The senior's most complete performance led the way for what Auburn coaches called the offense's most complete performance since the start of last season.

Opponent	Result	Rushing Yards	Passing Yards
vs. Arkansas	W 45-21	302	293
vs. San Jose State	W 59-13	358	138
at Kansas State	W 20-14	128	231
vs. Louisiana Tech	W 45-17	254	219
vs. LSU	W 41-7	298	268

"I thought Nick played well for the most part," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said Sunday night. "There were a couple of [negative] plays here and there like everybody, but I thought he played well. Last night was the closest to what we're trying to get to."

The Tigers talked in the offseason about achieving more offensive balance after a run-heavy 2013 season, and the rout of rival LSU was just one more game in what has been a season of equilibrium for Malzahn's scheme.

"It's just one thing about our offense, you never know what to expect," junior receiver Sammie Coates said. "We can go deep, we can throw it short, we can run the ball on you. It's just one of those things that Coach Malzahn brings out...we can do either one with Nick throwing it the way he's throwing it, and the way we're running it."

Marshall has been able to improve his throwing while still remaining one of the nation's most dangerous running quarterbacks. He has run for more than 100 yards in three of five games this season and is sixth nationally among signal-callers in rushing yards.

Two of Marshall's four rushing touchdowns this season came against LSU, both of which featured some ankle-breaking moves and speed away from a traditionally tough defense out of Baton Rouge.

"He seems faster to me," LSU head coach Les Miles said after Saturday's game. "He could get seven to 10 yards in a pretty comfortable fashion. I went up to our defense and said, 'Hey, guys, that guy is pretty fast.'"

The light years of improvement in balance for Marshall and Auburn's entire offense will be put to the test Saturday in that rematch with Mississippi State, who has soared to a No. 3 ranking after a comfortable victory against Texas A&M.

Marshall will most likely have to fight for running room against what Lashlee called a "big, tough and physical" Mississippi State front seven Saturday in Starkville.

But if there is a weakness in an impressive and experienced Bulldog defense, it would be its tendency to give up long plays through the air. Mississippi State is 103rd nationally in allowing passing plays of 10 yards or more and 110th in allowing plays of 20 yards or more.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

With Coates' return to prominence in the Tigers passing game against LSU, the continued excellence of newcomer Williams and several big plays from other Auburn receivers settling into their roles on offense, Marshall has more weapons this season when he faces a defense that he had a career day of yardage against in 2013.

And Marshall's knack for coming up with big plays in the clutch could be crucial Saturday in what will be the biggest game in Mississippi State's long history. If things go as expected, this SEC West clash should still be close in the fourth quarter at Davis Wade Stadium.

While many around the country are interested in seeing how Mississippi State's star quarterback, Dak Prescott, and his offense will perform in a big game, the college football world already knows what it can expect from Marshall and an offense that has all its faith in him.

"Nick brings something special to the game every time he steps on that field," Coates said. "You never know what to expect from him. He's a playmaker. He's going to do something great every time he got the ball in his hands. That's what we like about him, that's why we play for him every time we go on that field."

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.