Hugh Freeze took his 1st step backwards as Auburn head coach on Saturday.

His Tigers were outplayed and outclassed in a 27-10 defeat at Texas A&M. It was not the SEC opener they had hoped for, but Auburn must rebound and do it in warp speed with 2-time defending national champion Georgia next on the schedule.

The Bulldogs come into Jordan-Hare Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday kickoff riding a 21-game winning streak. They’ve owned the Oldest Rivalry in the South, defeating Auburn 6 straight times and winning 9 out of the past 10 meetings between the programs.

Auburn is just 3-15 against Georgia over the past 18 meetings, which includes the 2017 SEC Championship Game.

Georgia is a 2-touchdown favorite in a game most aren’t giving Freeze and the Tigers much of a chance for victory.

But here are 3 things we’d like to see on Saturday against the Bulldogs:

1. Can someone step up at quarterback?

Whether it’s Payton Thorne or Robby Ashford … or heck, Holden Geriner, somebody has to step up and be a leader. That just didn’t happen last Saturday in College Station. Thorne looked lost in his 6-for-12 passing day for just 44 yards. Indecisive and inaccurate, Thorne put the Tigers in awkward, long-distance situations throughout the game.

Ashford had no answer, completing 1 of 4 passes for 4 yards. His 25 yards rushing on 8 attempts didn’t provide much relief. And, in desperation, Geriner proved equally ineffective, throwing for only 8 yards on 2 completions in 7 passing attempts.

The trio combined for a dismal 56 yards passing. Auburn had more yards in penalties (10 for 64 yards) than passing yardage.

The quarterback ratings were abysmal: Thorne (80.8), Ashford (33.4) and Geriner (38.2) struggled mightily against an Aggies front that Auburn couldn’t block.

Somebody is going to have to step up on Saturday or it will be another long Saturday afternoon for the Tigers.

2. The Jarquez Hunter Show

It’s time for Auburn’s featured back to be, well, featured.

With Damari Alston out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder, it’s time for Hunter to become the running back that Auburn has expected since his arrival.

Can he handle it? That’s been the question.

Can he take the pounding?

It would be nice to see the 5-10, 210-pound junior get 15 to 20 carries on Saturday. But is that asking too much? In this his 3rd season at Auburn, Hunter has never carried more than 13 times in any game.

He did that twice, in back-to-back games toward the end of last season, in victories over Texas A&M and Western Kentucky. In both games, Hunter surpassed the 100-yard mark, an accomplishment he hadn’t achieved since his 1st 2 games at Auburn.

Here’s hoping that Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery can turn their star running back loose and devise a gameplan that gets Hunter the ball in space.

3. Stop the run

Among SEC teams, only Vanderbilt (750 yards) has given up more rushing yards this season than Auburn (536). The Tigers yielded a cringeworthy 209 yards rushing last Saturday to Texas A&M.

Now, Georgia hasn’t rushed for 200 yards yet this season. But in each of the past 3 years the Bulldogs have surpassed that mark against the Tigers, including a 292-yard ground output last season. So, we know what they’re capable of.

Yet, oddly enough, after 4 games this season the Bulldogs have yet to turn in a 200-yard rushing game. That hasn’t happened since the 2010 season.

I’d like to see Auburn continue that trend for Georgia this year and hold the Bulldogs run game in check. To do so, the Tigers will have to bottle up Georgia senior running back Daijun Edwards, who returned from injury with an impressive 118-yard performance in the recent victory over South Carolina.

In 2 games this season, Edwards leads the Bulldogs with 184 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. He’s averaging 92 yards per game on the ground with a 5.75 yards-per-carry average.

Keep him in check and Auburn just might hang around a while on Saturday at Jordan-Hare.