AUBURN | Three days after his offense was again the culprit in a sixth consecutive loss to one of Auburn’s top three rivals, Gus Malzahn insisted the need for balance.

It’s a common refrain from Malzahn despite his best offense as the Tigers’ head coach being his most unbalanced.

“When you’re playing a talented defense, you have to be balanced,” Malzahn said.

In Malzahn’s first season in 2013, his offense was far from balanced. Auburn averaged 39.5 points and 501.3 yards per game, the most of the Malzahn era. It led the nation in rushing yards averaging 328.3 per game while finishing 108th averaging 173.0 passing yards.

That 2013 team was also Malzahn’s best, winning 12 games, the SEC Championship and advancing to the BCS national championship game.

It’s been a completely different story this season with the Tigers averaging 205.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 5th in the SEC, but struggling to run the ball against quality opponents. AU averaged 112.7 rushing yards in losses to Florida, LSU and Georgia.

After being shutout and gaining just 171 total yards through the first three quarters of Saturday's game against Georgia, Auburn went to its two-minute offense down 21-0. It worked with the Tigers scoring two quick touchdowns, but their final two drives ended on downs as the Bulldogs held on for a 21-14 win.

Auburn totaled 158 yards in the fourth including 123 passing by quarterback Bo Nix. The 35 rushing yards were nearly half of the 84 the Tigers had the entire game.

Malzahn was asked after the game and again during his Tuesday press conference if this year’s offense might be at its best when it uses the pass to set up the run.

“Well, I’ll say this, it shows me that we do have the ability through the air to do some things,” Malzahn said. “But like I said, you’re playing the top teams, you’re going to need to be balanced. We’re going to need to be both. So I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to move forward and run, you know, throw it 50 times.’

“For us to be the best we can be, we need to be balanced and we need to be able to take what the defense gives you. That’s probably the best way to answer that.”

Auburn returns to action Saturday against Samford. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.