Gus Malzahn thinks he's evolved as a play-caller, but it's been a while.

"It's been so long since I called, that I can't really remember what I used to work," he said Tuesday.

The dividends of Malzahn's rehashing as the offensive maestro for his Auburn Tigers have certainly been paid this season. Ranked No. 7 in the nation at 5-0 (2-0 SEC), Auburn and its offense have exploded at the right time under Malzahn's play-calling.

Following a slow start, Auburn has hung 50-plus in two of its last three games, with a 28-20 road win over Texas A&M sandwiched between two decisive home victories.

"I think each week, you just try to give your guys the best chance of being successful with what you're going to face," Malzahn said. "I think, really, our guys deserve all the credit. I mean, the standpoint that they are executing what's called against some good defenses. So it makes it easy to call plays."

Auburn's offense looks like it does when it's had the most success under Malzahn — a threatening ground attack and some complex packages and eye candy that, when presented in tandem, lull a defense to sleep with methodical drives and play-calling.

Malzahn knows his methods are as intuitive as they were, say, 10 years ago, when he was one of the pioneers of the hurry-up, no huddle.

"It’s not as big an advantage because defenses are all used to different things," Malzahn said. "So I think you’ve got to evolve. You’ve got to pick and choose your times to put the hammer down, you’ve got to pick and choose your times to let up a little bit and make sure you’re in a solid play and you’ve got everything organized."

That "hammer" came in the form of freshman quarterback Bo Nix last week, who turned in his best game in a Tigers uniform with 335 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

"I think more than anything, it's about what your quarterback is comfortable with," Malzahn said. "There's a lot of different coaches and myself — 'Oh, I like this, I like that' — but it's all about your quarterback and what he feels comfortable with, what he can execute, what players can execute around him.

"It's more of that than it is just drawing up new plays just because they're cool."

For Malzahn, the best part of his role as play-caller comes off the field — in a way that he had been restricted the past few years.

"I love working with our players on the practice field — that’s really the highlight for me," he said. "Just being more engaged, I enjoy that. ... I’m not as bored, I’ll tell you that. I got bored the last couple of years."

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