Chances are, wherever he is at this very moment, Gus Malzahn is doing the thing he loves and does best, professionally speaking. Drawing up ball plays for a dual-threat quarterback. Looking for new ways to run the ball downhill in a hurry and throw it when the defense least expects it. Counting down the days until he gets another chance to do the thing he’s done better than any college football coordinator or head coach or both since 2009.

Beat Alabama.

It’s the heart of his legacy, the top line on his resume, the pre-written lead to his obituary, which hopefully won’t be necessary for a long, long time. He’s been a part of four victories over the nation’s best college football program in that time, one as the Auburn offensive coordinator in 2010, three as the Auburn head coach in 2013, 2017 and 2019.

His overall 4-7 record in the rivalry – 1-2 as coordinator, 3-5 as head coach – doesn’t sound all that impressive until you consider it came against Nick Saban.

This self-described “old-school football coach” has changed locations and positions, moving from head coach at Central Florida to offensive coordinator at Florida State, and as fate would have it, guess who is his first Rubik’s Cube to solve as a reinvigorated play-caller.

That would be Alabama.

Of all the invigorating matchups that await a little more than a month from now on the season’s first full weekend – tell Malzahn protege Rhett Lashlee most involve the SEC – none is more intriguing than Alabama at Florida State. Malzahn’s presence on the FSU sideline is the kind of plot twist you can’t script, and it promises to produce an unforeseen series of events that’s impossible to predict.

His prior meetings with Alabama often did.

No one saw the Kick Six coming. Or the Camback. Or even, in his first Iron Bowl in 2009 as Gene Chizik’s mad scientist, the opening drive punctuated by an untouched 67-yard reverse for a touchdown. It was the longest play given up all year to that point by the Saban/Kirby Smart defense.

Auburn didn’t win that game despite jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead, but Alabama didn’t want a rematch. The Crimson Tide had an easier time beating Tim Tebow in the SEC Championship Game and Colt McCoy in the BCS Championship Game than it did in finally figuring out Chris Todd to come from behind late to survive Jordan-Hare Stadium.

If you’re an Alabama fan and you’re not concerned about what Malzahn might cook up between now and Aug. 30th, you have a shorter memory than most red elephants. Or you’ve suppressed the shock sparked by the pop pass from Nick Marshall to Sammie Coates in the 2013 Iron Bowl, the punctuation on a close-to-perfect, game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter.

A year later, Marshall, the converted DB, threw for a school-record 456 yards against the Alabama defense, forcing Lane Kiffin to dial up Amari Cooper repeatedly to outscore Auburn 55-44.

It’s no wonder Florida State head coach Mike Norvell raved Wednesday at ACC Media Days about his new offensive coordinator. Norvell got his FBS coaching start as a Tulsa grad assistant when Malzahn was the resident yards and points genius there.

Did we mention that Malzahn has a new dual-threat toy at quarterback this season in Thomas Castellanos? You may be aware of the verbal darts the transfer has tossed in Alabama’s direction, but did you know that two years ago at Boston College, he had four games in which he rushed for more than 125 yards? That he finished the season with a total of 1,113 rushing yards?

Not to suggest that Castellanos is a shorter Marshall or a miniature Newton, but let’s look at the Iron Bowl records of the dual-threat quarterbacks Malzahn threw at Alabama during his time at Auburn.

Cam Newton: 1-0

Nick Marshall: 1-1

Jarrett Stidham: 1-1

Bo Nix: 1-1

None of them ran for 100 yards against the Tide – Marshall had the highest total with 99 yards in the 2013 win – but their legs certainly played a role in each of those four victories. No doubt Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who was not on the staff for any of those games, is well aware of that trend.

Isn’t it refreshing to turn our attention away from the hot air bellowing out of these endless media days toward the heat and humidity that awaits a mid-afternoon kickoff in Tallahassee on the last Saturday in August? The burning questions that day will concern the man driving the Gus Bus, repainted in garnet and gold.

Does Gus still have his fastball? Does his clipboard still contain the kind of magic that bedeviled Saban?

Alabama looks like the better team from here, but that was always the case before Malzahn and Auburn went Boom! This game and the game within it can’t get here soon enough.