Auburn can't afford to drop back-to-back games, and the Tigers are big favorites against South Carolina.
The last time the No. 5 Auburn Tigers were on the field, they were dealt a costly 38-23 loss by Mississippi State. Yet at fifth in the AP Poll, Auburn almost certainly controls its own destiny in its goal to make the four-team College Football Playoff.
That's why Josh Dowdy of SB Nation's Auburn blog, College and Magnolia, says that the playoff begins Saturday for the Tigers when unranked South Carolina travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
With an uphill climb to the top of the SEC West standings already on Auburn's plate, the team can't afford to look anything less than elite against South Carolina.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WNKT-FM - 107.5 FM (South Carolina), AuburnTigers.com radio stream
Online streaming:WatchESPN
The numbers
Rankings and records: Auburn sits at No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, while South Carolina is unranked in both. The Tigers are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in SEC play, while the Gamecocks are 2-3 in conference and 4-3 overall.
Vegas: Auburn opened as a 14-point favorite over South Carolina, but that line has swelled to 19 points. The over/under sits at 65.5 points, according to Odds Shark.
Weather forecast: 55 degrees on a clear night.
Two things at stake
Auburn likely won't move up in the rankings regardless of the result, unless a team in the top four stumbles. Still, big games against the likes of Alabama and Mississippi are on the schedule, so holding par in the top five is crucial for the Tigers and will keep them in the tight SEC West race.
South Carolina entered the year No. 9 but picked up tough losses to Texas A&M and Missouri before an embarrassing one to Kentucky. Still, the Gamecocks own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Georgia and could still salvage a decent season and cling to SEC East hopes with a huge upset win over Auburn.
One big matchup
Auburn running backs vs. South Carolina defense: No team has averaged fewer than 4 yards per carry against South Carolina and every opponent has managed well over 100 yards rushing. It's getting worse, too, as Kentucky and Furman both eclipsed 200 yards rushing in the last two weeks.
That's a bad trend to have when Auburn's top five rushers all average more than 5 yards per carry, including quarterback Nick Marshall, who has already managed to rack up more than 100 yards rushing four times in 2014. If South Carolina can't keep Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne in check, it could be a field day for the Auburn offense.
Further reading
For more coverage of Auburn, be sure to check out College and Magnolia. For more on South Carolina, visit Garnet and Black Attack.