Texas A&M hits the road for the first time this season on Saturday. It’s also the SEC opener for the No. 17 Aggies, who travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the Auburn Tigers in a 6 p.m. CT kickoff.

Aggies fans are cautiously optimistic that their team can win for the third straight week and remain unbeaten. Here are five things that are trending among Aggies fans as they look forward to Saturday’s game:

1. Spread – It raised a few eyebrows that Auburn opened up as 4-point favorites for this game. Aggies fans are riding the two-game win streak, and more than a few feel like they deserve a little more respect than to be considered the underdog for this game, especially considering Auburn has a loss to a Clemson team that struggled to beat Troy last week, and the Auburn’s only victory came against Arkansas State. In other words, Aggies fans are generally unimpressed with Auburn’s résumé so far. Many feel that point spread should have been closer or perhaps even in the Aggies’ favor.

2. Weather – A better than 50 percent chance of rain with high humidity could be a factor on Saturday. Aggies fans pondered the question of how weather might have an effect on the outcome. Would wet conditions adversely affect Texas A&M’s up-tempo style of offense? A wet football might be tough to deal with. It could prove to be more of a negative to the Aggies than the Tigers, considering their inclination to throw the ball more than a run-oriented Auburn style of play. Since turnovers would more than likely play a huge role in determining the outcome of such a evenly matched contest, rain and poor playing conditions are on the minds of Aggies fans.

3. Auburn defense vs. QB Trevor Knight – While Aggies fans seem to be pleased overall with what they’ve seen from the Oklahoma graduate transfer, the jury is still out on him and a big test will come from the best defense he will have faced so far this season. At least, that’s the common thread in online chatter concerning Saturday’s game. Will Auburn’s defense be able to control Knight and the Aggies’ new scheme on offense? Aggies fans generally want to see more consistency from Knight and perhaps better decision-making over the course of 60 minutes. A lot of those questions will be answered on Saturday.

4. Defense vs. Auburn run game – While Aggies fans are beginning to notice an improvement in the defense, the astute among them are more than a little concerned about how to stop Auburn’s run-heavy offense. It rolled over Texas A&M last season, and while it remains a strength of the Tigers’ gameplan, Aggies fans are concerned that it could again play to Texas A&M’s biggest weakness. Aggies fans have liked what they’ve seen so far from the defense, but is it really better than last year’s? That’s what will be revealed on Saturday. It’s also what has Aggies fans a bit uneasy about the opponent.

5. Trends – A couple of trends have been the topic of conversation among Aggies fans with regard to Auburn. The most glaring of all is the fact that the road team has won the last four games between the two teams. That’s a trend Aggies fans are hoping continues on Saturday. However, jaded fans are looking at this game as perhaps the beginning of the end to the Aggies’ season. They’ve seen it happen the last couple of years: start out fast, finish slow. While September has been a pretty good month for the Aggies, October and November have proven to be not as successful. Some Aggies fans are fearful that the trend will continue and start just a bit earlier this season.