AUBURN | There are several underlying issues that have led to Auburn’s 2-2 start and tumble out of the national polls.

Injuries, turnovers and poor play at the line of scrimmage have certainly contributed, as have penalties, which is an area Gus Malzahn is determined to fix immediately.

“Disappointed in the penalties,” said Malzahn a day after a 30-22 loss at South Carolina. “You know, I always think that’s coaching. That starts with me, and we’ve got to do a better job in that area.”

Auburn is currently 13th in the SEC and 47th of 77 teams nationally averaging 60.5 penalty yards per game.

In its two losses to Georgia and USC, Auburn totaled 16 penalties for 135 yards. Four of the nine penalties against the Gamecocks gave them first downs and extended drives.

“I really think we were hurting ourselves with a lot of the penalties that we had, man,” linebacker Owen Pappoe said. “We've just got to get that corrected in practice, so we can get off the field quickly on third down.”

The Tigers were second in the SEC in penalties in 2017, the year it won 10 games and the SEC West. They won eight games in 2018 ranking 9th in penalties and nine games last season ranking 10th.

Auburn plays at Ole Miss Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on SECN.