Nick Saban said his Alabama Crimson Tide became an ordinary team after taking a big lead in its victory over No. 11 Florida last Saturday.

“I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this situation, especially playing on the road against a good team,” the coach said. “You can’t let up in a game. You’ve got to be able to sustain our intensity for 60 minutes in the game so we can play Alabama football.”

The No. 1 Tide’s next chance to do that comes Saturday as Southern Miss (1-2) visits at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

“There’s a lot of things for our players to learn, what we can do better from an execution standpoint,” Saban said of his 3-0 team. “There’s another opportunity and another challenge this week against Southern Miss. These guys have played really well on defense. They’re one of the toughest people to run against of anybody in the country.”

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (10) runs the ball in the Tigers’ 28-20 loss to Penn State. Auburn is back at Jordan-Hare Stadium for Saturday’s homecoming game with Georgia State. (Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics)

Bryan Harsin said his Auburn Tigers were disappointed to have left Happy Valley with a Saturday night loss to Penn State.

“We need to take away what we learned from this game,” he said, “and apply it to this week and use that as motivation going into the preparation we need to have for a really good Georgia State team.”

The No. 23 Tigers (2-1) celebrate homecoming at 3 p.m. on the SEC Network. Georgia State is 1-2.

UAB coach Bill Clark has warned his team to not focus on Tulane’s 61-21 loss to Ole Miss last week.

“This’ll be one of the best teams we’ll see all year,” he told media as his Blazers prepare to travel to New Orleans for their 7 p.m. Saturday game.

UAB (2-1) followed its loss to Georgia by trouncing North Texas 40-6 in its Conference USA opener. Now the Blazers head to the Big Easy to face Tulane (1-2).

Because of Hurricane Ida, the Green Wave practiced and played in Birmingham, beating Morgan State 69-20 in its “home-away-from-home” opener at Legion Field. Now Tulane will play its true home opener against the team that has until this season called Legion Field home.

UAB and Tulane are meeting for the 11th time with the series tied 5-5.

In other action:

UT Martin at Jacksonville State: After shocking Florida State, Jacksonville State needed a 100-yard Malik Feaster fumble return for a touchdown to beat rival North Alabama 27-24 in the Gamecocks’ home opener. JSU (2-1) moved up to No. 9 this week in both the FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. The Gamecocks host the Skyhawks (2-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

North Alabama at Nicholls State: The Lions were close last week but take an 0-3 record into their 3 p.m. contest in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Nicholls State is 0-2.

Troy at Louisiana Monroe: The Trojans (2-1) beat Southern Miss 21-9 on the road last week. They are on the road again, at 7 p.m. Saturday. Louisiana Monroe is 1-1.

Quarterback Jack McDaniels and the undefeated West Alabama Tigers put up 80 points against North American last week. (West Alabama Athletics)

Bethune-Cookman at Alabama State: The Wildcats (0-3), the new kids on the Southwestern Athletic Conference block, take on their second conference rival from Alabama after falling 30-27 to Alabama A&M. The Hornets are playing their second game after falling 62-0 to Auburn. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Alabama A&M vs. Tuskegee: The Bulldogs (2-0) face the Golden Tigers (1-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the 2021 Gulf Coast Challenge at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Tuskegee is playing its second classic of the season, falling 30-0 to Fort Valley State in the season-opening Red Tails Classic in Montgomery.

Central State at Miles College: After going 0-2 in back-to-back games against FCS teams from the SWAC, the Golden Bears got in the win column with a 37-14 win over Morehouse. Miles opens Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at 6 p.m. Saturday. Central State is 1-2.

Huntingdon at Brevard: The Hawks (0-2) kick off play in the USA South Academic All-Conference at noon Saturday. Brevard is 1-2.

West Alabama at Mississippi College: The Tigers (3-0) tattooed North American 80-0 last Saturday. This week, they hope to extend their win streak at 7 p.m. in Clinton, Mississippi.

East Tennessee State at Samford: The Bulldogs (2-0 overall) look to push their SoCon record to 2-0 at 2 p.m. Saturday. East Tennessee State is 3-0.

Idle this week: Birmingham-Southern, South Alabama.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A: Central Phenix City (5-0), ranked No. 4 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, hosts Opelika, which is 3-2 after having won its past three games in a row. They play Friday.

Class 6A: No. 4 Mountain Brook (5-0) hosts Class 7A No. 1 Thompson (5-0) on Friday.

Warrior fans were amazing Friday Night! Second to none! Thank you for the support every week! Go Warriors! https://t.co/KGfRzfsvso

— Thompson Football 2020 7A State Champions! (@WARRIORNATION20) September 19, 2021

Class 5A: No. 4 Leeds (4-0) hits the road for its game at West Morgan (3-2) on Friday.

Class 4A: Lanett (4-1) travels to No. 1 Handley (5-0) on Friday.

Class 3A: No. 10 T.R. Miller lost its opener at Jackson but hasn’t lost since to stand at 4-1. The Tigers host UMS Wright (3-1) on Friday.

Class 2A: No. 9 Leroy (4-0) visits Class 1A No. 2 Sweet Water (4-0) on Friday.

Class 1A: Southside Selma (3-1) welcomes No. 6 Keith (5-0) on Friday.

AISA: No. 4 Chambers Academy (5-0) visits No. 3 Pike Liberal Arts (4-1) on Friday.