The November scenario for Auburn between 2017 and this season is so similar that one would think this happened every two years. The Tigers will welcome both Georgia and Alabama, who are playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff, in two of the next three weeks while the Tigers, with two losses against top-10 teams, have an outside shot at the playoff.

We all know what happened two seasons ago. Gus Malzahn’s team caught fire and drove the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs out of Jordan-Hare Stadium to a score of 40-17. Two weeks later, the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide, also ranked No. 1 at the time, 26-14 to win the SEC West.

While the situation is almost the same, Malzahn hasn’t said a word to his team about what happened then, mostly because he might not have to.

“We really haven’t talked about 2017,” he said. “But the good thing for us is that we’ve got a lot of players who will be out there Saturday who were here for 2017.”

If the Tigers repeat the magic on the Plains again with two victories, it will more than likely knock their two biggest rivals out of the playoffs and keep alive the slim hope of sneaking into the four-game format. Either way, wins over the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide would be welcome by Auburn fans everywhere and, just maybe, give Malzahn some more credit for the job he has done.