Gus Malzahn 1.JPG

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA football game against Texas A&M Saturday Sept. 17, 2016, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Among the issues Auburn coach Gus Malzahn took the blame for during an uncharacteristically introspective press conference on Tuesday was for his play calling.

"Hadn't been very good," Malzahn said. "It's gotta be better. It's gotta be better and it will get better."

Asked if it was a matter of game planning or in-game adjustments, Malzahn said it was "all of the above."

During each of Auburn's two losses this season, which Malzahn said have "probably hurt me worse than any of the others," the Tigers (1-2, 0-1 SEC) have been unable to stay on the field due in large part to a high number of third-and-long situations.

It's not as easy fix before Auburn hosts No. 18 LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) on Saturday, as there are multiple facets to the problem.

If Auburn was more successful on first and second downs, there would obviously be fewer third-and-longs. In order to stay ahead of the chains, Auburn can't allow negative plays to derail drives and after three games, the Tigers rank last among 128 FBS teams with 32 tackles for loss allowed. Included in that are nine sacks, which at a rate of three per game is tied for last in the SEC and tied for No. 102 nationally.

"That's really the No. 1 focus from the offensive staff standpoint is the negative plays," Malzahn said. "Getting behind the chains."

The numbers are staggering compared to a year ago, when Auburn allowed just 65 tackles for loss all season at a rate of five per game to rank No. 24 nationally.

It's easy to point to the offensive line as the source of the problem, but Malzahn said that group did a "solid job" against Texas A&M despite the Aggies notching 13 tackles for loss including four sacks.

Tackles for loss have been an issue for offensive line coach Herb Hand's teams, which have ranked No. 109 or worse nationally in TFL allowed six times since 2009.

Malzahn put the onus on himself and the coaches for not adjusting quick enough when Texas A&M was "mesh charging" - having defensive ends rush to the hand off between the quarterback and running back on zone-read plays.

One such instance came on the first play of the game, when Myles Garrett sacked Sean White.

Another was on the failed fourth-and-3 during the fourth quarter, which Malzahn said was a "missed call" rather than an execution issue.

"We've just got to make better adjustments," Malzahn said. "Defensive guys, when something works, they're all going to do it. I don't care if you're a guy that's been in the league 20 years and you've never done it. That's just the way it works."

With 14 tackles for loss allowed against Clemson and 13 by Texas A&M, both fo which recorded four sacks against Auburn, it's no surprise that Auburn struggled to convert on third downs in those losses.

On 17 third downs against Clemson, Auburn faced an average distance of 7.9 yards and converted just three times.

Against Texas A&M, the average distance Auburn faced on third down was 9.1 yards and the Tigers converted 6 of 17 third downs overall.

Even as Malzahn took the blame for most of the issues facing his offense, which has allowed more sacks than all but six Power 5 teams that have all attempted more passes than the Tigers, it didn't stop players from taking responsibility as well.

"We could've executed here a little better," wide receiver Darius Slayton said. "With some things, either blocking-wise or maybe receivers or quarterbacks or running backs, executing better.

"Other than that, I don't think there's any real major things holding us back besides us."