AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn opened the season with an impressive win over No. 6 Washington in Atlanta. As the only top-10 matchup in college football, it was one of the highlights from Week One and drew a 3.6 overnight rating, the best of any game in the 3:30 p.m. ET time slot.
This week's game isn't a top-10 matchup. Instead, Auburn will host Alabama State from the SWAC at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It's the first meeting between the two schools, but in the Tigers' two previous games against current SWAC opponents (2012 and 2016), they outscored their opponents, 106-7.
The focus for Auburn, though, isn't about who the opponent is. It's about getting better.
For junior defensive lineman Marlon Davidson, it's as simple as four letters that director of strength and conditioning Ryan Russell preaches to him every day.
"D.M.G.B."
"Don't matter get better," Davidson said. "No matter who your opponent is – it doesn't matter, get better. Every play that you go out there, every rep that you take at practice, get better. No matter the situation, get better."
"It really doesn't matter who we play," added running back Kam Martin. "We just have to go out there with that same energy that we brought last week and get better. I know we're playing a smaller opponent, but you can't look at those guys like they're little because last year we went out there against Mercer and we didn't play Auburn football. This year, we're going to take every game and approach it at a high level."
Auburn won that Mercer game last year, but it was a one-score game in the fourth quarter thanks in large part to five turnovers committed by the offense. In 2015, the Tigers escaped with a win over FCS opponent Jacksonville State in the home opener.
"We don't take anything for granted," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "The good teams that have a chance to win a championship don't. This week is about us getting better. Last week is behind us and we have to figure out a way to get better. There's all kinds of areas that we should improve on and need to improve on, and that's the way we are approaching this game."
So it doesn't matter that Alabama State lost to the likes of Kennesaw State and Prairie View A&M last year. The Auburn players are treating the game this weekend like its Alabama or LSU or Tennessee. It's about holding each other to the standard that has been set.
The defense, in particular, wants to pitch a shutout Saturday.
"We want to allow people to score as little as possible," defensive lineman Dontavius Russell said. "At the end of the year, they don't just count the games that people expected a challenge from. They count everybody. If we went out and gave up 500 yards, it still counts in our stats at the end of the year. So I think that's what gives us the motivation to hold those teams to as few yards and as few points as possible."
Regardless of opponent, there should be an extra buzz on campus Saturday with it being the first home game of the season. Fans will have the opportunity to experience the Auburn traditions such as Tiger Walk and the eagle flight for the first time this fall.
For more info on this weekend's matchup, visit our Fan Primer page.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf