When last we saw the Auburn Tigers, they were triumphantly leaving Fayetteville with all the momentum that came from a 38-23 win over Arkansas.

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix scores a touchdown in the Tigers’ victory over Arkansas. Auburn will need another strong performance when No. 10 Ole Miss comes to town Saturday. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)

Then came a bye week, a chance to kick back and relax. No way, said coach Bryan Harsin.

“I think there was a lot of energy coming off that game and certainly you felt the momentum as we came back and kind of put that game to bed,” he said. “But it’s about the mentality of your players. Are we still trying to get better through the bye week, which I think we did.

“I don’t think we wasted any time,” the coach continued. “We’re nowhere near what we need to be in order for us to have a day where we can just back off. I don’t think anybody really backed off from that standpoint. We did from a physical standpoint, but I think mentally, and just what guys were trying to get things done, we had a productive week.”

Which the No. 18 Tigers (5-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) will need as they welcome No. 10 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. Harsin said the Rebels have displayed an offense that’s been on fire, a defense that has come on, special teams that have been solid and a quarterback in Matt Corral who is a strong candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

“They’re 6-1 for a reason, with their one loss coming to Alabama,” the coach said. “They’re scoring a bunch of points; I think (they are) second in the SEC in scoring. Total yards, they’re first. They’re running the ball well (and) passing the ball well.”

Alabama A&M coach Connell Maynor and Alabama State coach Donald Hill-Eley presented their best comedy routines at a joint press conference prior to this Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. meeting at Birmingham’s Legion Field in the 80^th McDonald’s Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola.

Alabama State coach Donald Hill-Eley speaks at a press conference in advance of Saturday’s Magic City Classic. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr. / Alabama NewsCenter)

The Hornets coach said he hopes it “rains, rains, rains” on Saturday to make it tougher for Bulldogs quarterback Aqeel Glass to deliver the ball. “Matter of fact, we’re going to send some water in so we can soak those hands down,” Hill-Eley quipped. “You’re talking about one of the most prolific passers that I’ve seen, probably since coach (Maynor) was playing. We’ve got to find a way to stop that.”

Asked about his reasons for concern in playing Alabama State, Maynor said, “Everything.”

“Coach Eley’s taken over the play-calling, so the last couple of weeks they’ve been scoring more points and moving the ball on offense and kind of finding their identity on offense,” the A&M coach said. “Defensively, coach (Travis) Pearson always does a great job. He’s gonna blitz you from everywhere — the bus, the sideline, the parking lot, the hotel. They’re going to be coming from everywhere. We’ve got to protect Aqeel, give him time and try to get open on those good DBs that they have.”

In other action:

Birmingham-Southern at Berry: BSC (7-0, 4-0 Southern Athletic Association) put Rhodes on the road home last week with a 41-6 loss at Southern’s homecoming. The No. 22 team in the D3football.com top 25 poll is the only college football team in Alabama without a loss. Berry is 5-2 and 3-1 in the league. Kickoff in Mount Berry, Georgia, on Saturday is 3 p.m. Central.

NC Wesleyan at Huntingdon: The Hawks are not undefeated. In fact, one of their two losses to open the season came from BSC. Since then, nothing has been put in their loss column. The Battling Bishops (3-4, 3-2) get the next shot at defeating Coach Mike Turk‘s team (5-2, 5-0 USA South Athletic Conference) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Troy at Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers (6-1, 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference) continue to be one of the best teams in the country, ranked No. 24 in both the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches polls. The Trojans are 4-3, 2-1 in the Sun Belt. ESPN2 will broadcast this Thursday (Oct. 28) game at 6:30 p.m. Central.

The Huntingdon Hawks have five wins in a row and are looking for a sixth in Saturday’s game with the Battling Bishops of NC Wesleyan. (Huntingdon Athletics)

Arkansas State at South Alabama: The Jaguars (4-3, 1-3 Sun Belt) celebrate homecoming this week. Kickoff Saturday with the Red Wolves (1-6, 0-3) is at 4 p.m.

Samford at VMI: Coming off a 55-13 loss to visiting Chattanooga, the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-3 in SoCon) travel to Lexington, Virginia, for a 12:30 p.m. Central meeting with the Keydets (5-2, 3-1).

West Alabama at North Greenville: UWA (6-2, 3-2 Gulf South Conference) opened the season with six straight victories before losing its past two outings. Perhaps the Tigers will be comfortable at 11 a.m. Central on Saturday at Younts Stadium in Tigerville, South Carolina. North Greenville is 4-4.

Monmouth at North Alabama: The Lions (2-6, 1-2) began the season with six losses but have now won two in a row. North Alabama aims for win No. 3 at noon Central on Saturday in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The Hawks are 4-3, 3-0 in the Big South Conference.

Central Arkansas at Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks (3-4, 1-1 AQ7) host the Bears (3-4, 0-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The AQ7 is a one-year football alliance between the ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference, with the winner earning the seven-team alliance’s automatic qualifier to the FCS playoffs.

Miles at Edward Waters: The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference didn’t play football during the 2020-21 school year. At 4-4 and 3-2 in the SIAC, the Golden Bears still have a defense of their 2019 conference championship in their sights. Next up is a trip to Jacksonville, Florida, for a nonconference game at 5 p.m. Central Saturday. Edward Waters is 2-5.

Kentucky State at Tuskegee: The Golden Tigers (3-5, 2-2) need a win at 1 p.m. Saturday to set up a winner-take-all meeting with Miles in the SIAC regular season finale for both teams. The Thorobreds are 4-4, 2-2.

Idle: No. 3 Alabama, UAB.

HIGH SCHOOL

Class 7A: Shades Valley (3-6) hosts Vestavia Hills (3-6) on Friday.

Class 6A: Helena (9-0), No. 4 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, welcomes 5A No. 5 UMS-Wright (8-1) on Friday.

Class 5A: Class 3A No. 2 Piedmont (8-1) hosts 5A No. 3 Alexandria (9-0) on Friday.

Class 4A: 3A No. 7 Trinity (8-1) travels to 4A No. 8 St. James (8-1) on Friday.

Class 3A:  4A Brooks (9-0) welcomes 3A Lauderdale County (9-0) on Friday.

Class 2A: 1A No. 6 Wadley (9-0) hosts 2A Spring Garden (9-0) on Friday.

Class 1A: 4A Montevallo (7-2) heads to 1A No. 3 Maplesville (9-0) on Friday.

AISA: No. 6 Lee-Scott (6-2) plays at Morgan Academy (5-4) on Friday.