They played angry.

Vindictive, even.

Like an ambush of insane tigers uncaged and unhinged on a playground after being poked and starved for far too long.

Purdue was a raw steak, and the boys from West Lafayette, Ind., didn’t last long. Final score of Friday’s Music City Bowl Massacre: Auburn 63, Purdue 14.

Auburn was talking trash with a 35-point lead, and going for it on fourth down, too. Senior linebacker Deshaun Davis celebrated a sack up 56-7 with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.

And that was all just the start.

Auburn was still eating well into the third quarter, and the 63 points set a new all-time record for an SEC team in a bowl game.

“We played extremely well,” Malzahn said. “We played our best game today.”

Nothing against Purdue, of course. It has been a maddening month for Auburn, and this was a team’s message to the world. Auburn’s fanbase might be divided on coach Gus Malzahn, but his players still believe.

And this is the most important thing of all. Malzahn can now go into the final months of this recruiting cycle with proof of his offensive plans for next season. He missed on quarterback grad transfers before the bowl game, but there are a couple still out there looking for places to finish their careers.

Jalen Hurts, for example.

[DRAMATIC PAUSE]

[SONIC BOOM]

[MUSHROOM CLOUD]

Let’s not crazy, OK? Hurts is less likely to transfer to Auburn for his senior season than Charles Barkley shooting even par at Augusta National. The point is this: Malzahn now has something tangible to sell. Look at the possibilities. Look at the potential. After parting ways with offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, Malzahn is calling plays for Auburn next season, and, after the Music City Bowl, no one can question that decision this offseason.

Now, if you want to question Purdue’s team speed or the legitimacy of the Big Ten, then be my guest.

Against Auburn receiver Darius Slayton Purdue’s Boilermakers appeared to have the foot speed of actual boilermakers. Slayton caught the ball three times, and he took them all to the end zone for long scores (74, 52 and 34 yards for 160 yards receiving).

“We hit explosive plays really for the first time all year,” Malzahn said.

And it was nice to see upperclassmen like Davis and Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham go out winners after such a frustrating season. They deserved something positive to lead them into the new year and into their pro careers.

Stidham had five touchdown passes in less than three quarters after throwing just seven touchdown passes in eight SEC games this season.

It all begs the all-important question. Where was this all season? Why now, when no one was even looking?

Malzahn seemed to blame it on an injured quarterback, but Stidham never mentioned an injury throughout the season.

“He wasn’t healthy all year,” Malzahn said after the game on the national broadcast, “and he never complained about that.”

This is the frustrating existence of Auburn under Malzahn, and no noisy score in the Music City Bowl can drown out that drumbeat. He has been excellent at times, and even brilliant, but he lost to Tennessee at home this season.

No excuse can excuse that.

And, if we’re being honest, Auburn should have beaten LSU by double digits.

Those are the scores that will stick around until next season long after the memory of this Music City Massacre is forgotten. Malzahn proved something important this postseason, though. His players never stopped fighting for him, and that’s good coaching whether his critics want to admit it or not.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.