It was a different kind of Kick Six. It was a fitting new chapter in the mad, mad, mad, mad world that is Auburn-LSU. It'll give Auburn fans a chance to add a 0:00 T-shirt to go with those that read 0:01.

Auburn didn't score a touchdown all day, and LSU did on the final play, but Auburn won and LSU lost because that last snap came one second too late and that would-be game-winning TD pass didn't count.

Upon one final review, Auburn 18, LSU 13 was official, and Auburn's seven-game home losing streak to Power 5 opponents was history, but despite the temporary euphoria, the future on the Plains is anything but solid or certain.

When Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed after the celebration that he had turned over the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee for the LSU game - more openly than is his way - Malzahn offered this explanation:

"I've been really leaning toward that for two weeks now," he said. "I need to be the head coach, and that's what I'm going to be. I'm going to be the head coach."

Malzahn didn't really explain the drastic change, but it didn't mesh with his off-season explanation that he wanted to be less of a CEO this year and more of a football coach. So why this and why now?

If you believe what people close to the program offered as the reason for the change, it may not have been entirely Malzahn's idea. It may have been a powerful suggestion from an activist booster with the potential end game of bringing in Art Briles at the end of the season.

As offensive coordinator. To work with his old friend Malzahn. To keep Malzahn on the job and keep Auburn from having to fire him and pay him that $8.95 million buyout.

If you believe what people with a reason to know shared with me, the motivation behind Malzahn's maneuver may have been strategic in ways that matter far beyond the final score Saturday night.

Consider that Malzahn becoming less of a CEO and more of a hands-on football coach, especially on offense, hadn't worked through the first three games. Auburn's defense kept the Tigers in the Clemson game until the final play and in the Texas A&M game until the fourth quarter, but the offense failed to do its part in either loss.

If that pattern continued, it would be harder to justify bringing back Malzahn next season if his favorite side of the ball was the primary reason for another disappointing campaign. But if Malzahn turned over the play-calling to Lashlee immediately and things improved, it would be seen as an intelligent mid-course correction by a head coach willing to swallow his pride.

If things didn't improve drastically but the bottom didn't drop out, it would make it easier to keep Malzahn for another year but sacrifice the offensive staff. It might make cutting loose the offensive staff mandatory for Malzahn to remain.

Enter Briles as offensive coordinator at season's end.

Briles was fired at Baylor in May amid questions about the school's handling of sexual assault allegations involving its football players. There appears to be a school of thought among at least some Auburn power brokers that it would be easier to sell the idea of hiring him as an assistant coach who's not charged with overseeing the entire program.

Briles is known for his offensive expertise, as well as his personal friendship with Malzahn, and that combination with the improved defense of coordinator Kevin Steele could help Auburn become an SEC and national contender again.

It may not have been a coincidence that former college football coach Rick Neuheisel predicted Wednesday on his SiriusXM College Sports Nation radio show that Briles will be at Auburn next season as either head coach or offensive coordinator. Neuheisel is well-connected.

It also may not have been a coincidence that former Auburn offensive coordinator Jack Crowe, who has his own connections, broke the news Saturday morning on Twitter that Malzahn was turning the play-calling over to Lashlee.

Crowe's tweet added this cryptic explanation: "Desperation. Assistant coaches not pawns. Scapegoating is failure of leadership."

The play-calling change didn't alter the production much as Auburn failed to reach 20 points for the fifth straight game against a Power 5 team. Only LSU's own offensive woes with a wounded Leonard Fournette allowed Auburn to win with six Daniel Carlson field goals.

Auburn still hasn't scored as many as 10 points in any half in its last five Power 5 games.

This was the first time the Tigers won a game without scoring a touchdown since the epically bad 3-2 victory at Mississippi State in 2008. What happened at the end of that season? Tommy Tuberville resigned as the Auburn head coach.

Did Malzahn decide to go back and "be the head coach" to avoid the same fate?