After admitting his play calling "hadn't been very good" in Auburn's two losses this season, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has handed the reins to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee for the remainder of the season.

Lashlee had play calling duties in Auburn's thrilling 18-13 win over No. 18 LSU on Saturday, which snapped a seven-game losing streak at Jordan-Hare Stadium to Power 5 opponents.

"I've been really leaning towards that for about two weeks now," Malzahn said after the game. "I'm turning it over to him. He'll do a great job. I thought he did a fantastic job tonight. I need to be the head coach and that's what I'm going to be. But I'm looking forward to Rhett building this offense and (offensive line coach) Herb (Hand)'s going to help it."

It marked the second time Malzahn gave play calling responsibility to Lashlee with Auburn facing a pivotal game in its season, last doing so in Auburn's 26-10 win at Texas A&M last season, which all but officially assured Auburn would go on to become bowl eligible.

Malzahn said Lashlee's play calling performance in last year's win over the Aggies gave him more confidence in making the move.

"I mean it's a little bit different than it was (against Texas A&M)," Malzahn said. "(Lashlee)'s going to do it. He's going to do it moving forward; he's ready. Then he's got Herb Hand, that helps him. I've got a lot of confidence in those guys."

Auburn (2-2, 1-1 SEC) was able to move the ball consistently until it reached the red zone but managed to gain 388 yards against an LSU defense that came in averaging 16.3 points and 325.7 yards allowed per game. It was the most yards allowed by LSU (2-2, 1-1 SEC) this season and the most allowed by a Dave Aranda-coached defense since Wisconsin's 2015 season opener with Alabama (502 yards).

After opening the game with back-to-back three-and-outs, Auburn scored on six of its last nine drives - all via field goals from Daniel Carlson - in Auburn's first win without scoring an offensive touchdown since 2008 (3-2 at Mississippi State). The only other times Auburn has failed to score an offensive touchdown during Malzahn's tenure as head coach or offensive coordinator was a 17-9 loss to Mississippi State in 2015.

"I thought (Lashlee) did a really good job," Malzahn said. "We had a lot of field goals. We need to work on getting the ball in the end zone. Thought he did a solid job, that's a good defense."

A source confirmed to AL.com prior to Saturday's game that Lashlee would call Auburn's offensive plays.

Multiple players said Lashlee, who former Auburn coach Jack Crowe first reported was calling plays, informed them of the change earlier in the week.

"He told us maybe Wednesday, in a meeting he told us," said running back Kerryon Johnson, who had 22 carries for 93 yards. "Half the time I don't know who's calling the plays, I just go out there and run them anyways. As an offensive unit, (the coaches are) going to cooperate on things anyways."

Sean White was 19 of 26 for 234 yards with a quarterback efficiency rating of 148.7, his best ever in an SEC game.

"I'm comfortable with whoever calls the plays," White said. "(Malzahn and Lashlee are) both, in my opinion, very good coaches. It doesn't matter to me. I think they're both really talented play-callers and I'm comfortable with either one. ...

"It wasn't really a huge difference in my opinion, but I think they're both great coaches. It's the same offense and I think coach Rhett Lashlee did a great job and I have the utmost confidence in him."

It was still a marked shift in approach for Malzahn, who spent the off-season saying he was "not a CEO," as he felt during last season.

Just last month, Malzhan told the Wall Street Journal he planned to be "more active with the daily X's and O's

"At the end of the day, I'm a football coach," Malzahn told the Wall Street Journal. "That's what I look at as my strength."

On Saturday, Malzahn was more of a spectator when the offense was on the field.

Before plays, he was at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, where Lashlee signaled in calls. When the defense was on the field, Malzahn stayed out of the offensive huddle, a move he said was "not really" difficult.

"I was kind of getting back and I was listening on the headsets," Malzahn said. "I can have a view of the whole field and watch the defense and all that. I thought it was a really good thing and that's what we're going to do moving forward and that's best for our team."