There’s a scene in some movies and TV shows where a pack of people are rafting down a river and all of a sudden come to a fork: if they go right, they will be greeted with beautiful sunshine and calm waters. Go left, and a storm is brewing with choppy waves and thunderstorms.

Unfortunately for Auburn, it doesn’t have a choice of which path it would prefer to take to close out the season. It is already getting a bit stormy and the current is coming close to rapid levels after the Tigers lost to LSU 23-20. What lies ahead should be seen as an obstacle course, with varying challenges — Ole Miss a simple gate to clear, Georgia a hailstorm — awaiting, including the big one, a major rush of Tide if you will, at the end.

So how will Gus Malzahn’s team navigate? Let’s break it down into 2 scenarios.

S.O.S.

It was the 2nd loss of last season that sent the team into a sinkhole, an embarrassing 23-9 loss to Mississippi State. The Tigers never recovered, putting up a stinker in a defeat to Tennessee in Jordan-Hare Stadium the very next week. Duds at Georgia and Alabama were sandwiched around a win against Liberty, and Auburn, once in the top 10 at the beginning of the year, sat at a disappointing 7-5.

The same thing could happen again if the Tigers aren’t ready. While Ole Miss should, in no way, come close to beating this team this Saturday, the same was absolutely true about the Volunteers last year. With a SEC Championship Game spot all but lost last week against LSU, how will Malzahn’s troops respond, especially with possible tensions growing between the offensive and defensive units?

If Bo Nix and the Tigers continue to put up blanks when the defense is out there keeping them in it, the discourse could grow.

That happens, and this team is lost. Blowouts to Georgia and Alabama would be inevitable and, once again, Malzahn’s job status would be iffy at best.

Fighting back

The other option is that the players remember how good they can be, what is ahead of them and the possibility that, as a major outside shot, they could still work their way into the College Football Playoff. Hey, crazier things have happened. Remember 2007?

The Tigers come out angry this Saturday, blowing up the Rebels as they are expected to, but take it to another level to prove that they still are a force to be reckoned with. Now in the comforts of his home field, Nix becomes the guy who put up gaudy numbers in the win against Mississippi State a month ago, the running game gets going and the defense puts the hammer down, setting up the battles against the 2 rivals.

Take you back to 2017: After the loss to LSU in Baton Rouge, no one gave a thought to Auburn being able to run the table against the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide. Those were just 2 teams waiting for their matchup in the SEC title game. That can be said about this year as well, although Georgia is not as good as it was 2 years ago.

Riding the energy of Jordan-Hare Stadium, Malzahn and Co. come out and whip Kirby Smart’s team and then stun Nick Saban again or comes close to it. The Tigers finish 10-2 and talks of how bright the future is will become the topic on The Plains.

Prediction

So which scenario do I think will happen?

I’m taking the latter. The Tigers are too good, too proud and have way too much leadership to let a major fallout happen. Malzahn’s seat is once again warming up and he will do everything he can to cool it.

Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and others didn’t come back for another season just to go to a mediocre bowl again.

Despite the struggles of the offense, this team seems to still have each other’s back. That will show down the stretch and create another special November in Jordan-Hare.