Football Preview: It’s Bulldog Week As Auburn Heads To Georgia, Bama Welcomes Mississippi State; UAB Faces Southern Miss

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

You couldn’t blame Gus Malzahn if he tried to bottle what was working for his Auburn Tigers in their come-from-behind victory against Texas A&M.

“All three phases helped win that game when the pressure was on the most, and that’s really what our team has taken from that,” he said. “You could tell Sunday, it felt different from a confidence standpoint. That’s exactly what we needed, that kind of win to help give us some momentum moving forward.”

Auburn (6-3) will try to take a swig from that bottle at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN in Athens as the Tigers take on Georgia. It is the third time in the past year that the teams have squared off, with Auburn trouncing the Bulldogs in the regular season and Georgia extracting some revenge in the SEC Championship Game.

This week is personal for some members of the No. 1 Alabama football team, which welcomes Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Alabama running back Damien Harris (34) carries the ball during last week’s 29-0 shutout of LSU. (Kent Gidley/University of Alabama Athletics)

“We’re going to get challenged this week by some individual players who are going to be a real challenge to get blocked,” coach Nick Saban said. “It’s not just going to be a scheme thing. It’s going to be a personal challenge to a lot of guys to get some really good players blocked.”

On the other side of the ball, Mississippi State (6-3) has the element that has sometimes tested the Crimson Tide – a quarterback who can run.

“Nick Fitzgerald is a veteran quarterback who is not only an efficient passer but presents a lot of issues and problems in the running game,” Saban said. “He has already gained almost 900 yards rushing. This is a really good all-around team.”

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