You won’t find Gus Malzahn complaining about that — no, he’s just fine plugging along, getting his team better each week and winning games while teams around him, within his division, make headlines.

That won’t last long though. The Tigers’ trip to Starkville next Saturday will draw the national spotlight. It’s very possible ESPN’s GameDay stays in the Magnolia State for back-to-back weeks.

And no, LSU is not its usual self, but it’s still not the sort of team to absorb the sort of 41-7 beating it was dealt Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

— Auburn totaled 566 yards of offense, the most ever by an Auburn team against LSU.

— The 34-point win matches the biggest margin of victory in the series.

— LSU failed to convert any of its 13 third-down plays into first downs.

It was the sort of performance needed on a day when it would have been easy to get caught up in the upsets around the country. Heck, upsets within the SEC West.

The Tigers will move up when the polls come out Sunday, possibly into the No. 1 position. But we’ve seen this year that top billing means little. 

“With our team I have not heard one player or coach talk about the rankings,” Malzahn said after Saturday night’s win. “We are focused. Our whole deal is at the end of the season. That is just the first game of the grind and it will all sort out at the end.”

For all the talk this season of Malzahn’s offense and if it’s as good as last year’s — that’s still to be decided — it’s Ellis Johnson’s defense that makes this Auburn team a different type of contender from a year ago.

The biggest difference is in the two biggest indicators: yards and points allowed.

— In 2013, Auburn allowed 423.5 yards per game and 24.0 points. Through five games this season, those numbers are 306.6 and 14.4.

— The Tigers are also limiting opponents to just less than 30 percent on third down conversions.

“We played outstanding holding those guys on third downs. They were as good as I have seen. I think we stopped them three out of four times on fourth downs, so hats off to the defense. They did a wonderful job.”

And not to be forgotten is that offense. If you’re interested in numbers, here’s a look at the 2013 team through five games and this year’s team. Last season, Auburn averaged 28.8 points and 426.6 yards in starting 4-1. This season, the Tigers are scoring 42.0 points and 497.2 yards.

“We talk about getting better and improving each week,” Malzahn said. “There is no doubt we improved this week."

And that job gets tougher this week with a trip to Starkville in a matchup that could feature top-5 teams if Mississippi State moves up like many think it will after the Bulldogs trounced No. 6 Texas A&M.

Malzahn said he didn’t watch any of this week’s opponent on Saturday, “but I heard they played pretty well.”

That’s right coach, they did. But that’s not something new to Malzahn or any of his other SEC West counterparts.

“It has a lot of big-time teams,” he said of the West division. “It is the best division in college football. I think it is pretty clear.”

And we’ll see it again next week with Auburn at Mississippi State, Ole Miss at Texas A&M and Arkansas at Alabama.

Is Auburn good enough to play for another national title? The Tigers look the part through five games, but still have a brutal weekly in-season playoff — they play at Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama, along with home dates against South Carolina and Texas A&M. Survive that and a playoff may not look so daunting.  

UM’S WORST WEEK CONTINUES

Did any program in the FBS have a worse week than Michigan?

Probably not, and things took a turn for the worse after a 26-24 loss to Rutgers, which won its first Big Ten home game on Saturday. Gary Nova finished with 404 passing yards and three TDs for the Scarlet Knights.

How bad is bad in Ann Arbor? A closer look at the last seven days:

SUNDAY: Michigan releases a statement from Brady Hoke saying “student-athlete welfare” is a top priority one day after Shane Morris left a 30-14 loss to Minnesota. Hoke said in the postgame he wasn’t sure if Morris had a concussion or not.

MONDAY: “Good Morning America” is among national outlets who question Morris re-entering the loss to the Gophers. The Baltimore Sun reports Ravens coach John Harbaugh is not interested in the Michigan job. Three Michigan recruits for the class of 2015 open up their recruitment.

TUESDAY: Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon releases a statement at 1 a.m. saying that the medical staff and coaches had a “serious lack of communication” when dealing with Morris’ injury. Michigan students organize a petition to fire athletic director David Brandon and hold a protest outside the school president’s office that night, some wearing Ohio State gear.

WEDNESDAY: Hoke defends his relationship with Brandon, and Devin Gardner is named the starter against Rutgers. 

THURSDAY: Brandon talks to the Michigan Daily and says mistakes were made, but no changes in Hoke’s job status are in store. Former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who compiled a 15-22 record with the Wolverines from 2008-10, leads Arizona to a 31-24 win against No. 2 Oregon.

SATURDAY: Michigan’s fourth-quarter rally against Rutgers falls short after a 56-yard field-goal attempt is blocked. The Wolverines fall to 2-4 and 0-2 in the Big Ten. It’s the first time Michigan started 0-2 in conference play since 1967, two years before Bo Schembechler’s arrival in Ann Arbor.

Can it get much worse? We’ll find out who shows up at Michigan Stadium for a primetime game against Penn State next Saturday.

Contributors: Ken Bradley, Bill Bender