The Auburn Tigers are headed into the homestretch with an extra week of preparation and a sense of life left in the season after a big SEC road victory.

Yes, the Tigers showed signs of life by doing what is customary of Auburn football: Run with authority and play good defense. It looked like the better Auburn teams of old, not a team that stumbled to a 4-3 start this season.

The sobering reality, though, is that the victory came against Ole Miss, which has the worst defense in the SEC by far. How far? Going into Saturday the Rebels had given up more than three times the rushing yardage this season (1,743-571) as Texas A&M. Three times!

In total defense, the Rebels give up 79 yards more per game than a Missouri team that ranks 13th in the conference.

Sure, it was a great game to get healthy, but what about the final three SEC games still left on the schedule? What can we expect for the Tigers, who snapped a two-game skid and are coming off a bye which should make them a little healthier both mentally and physically?

Looking at the trio of league games, one thing is for sure, there are no more Ole Miss games on the schedule. Quite the opposite in fact. Yes, Auburn faces the toughest stretch of the season. Here’s what’s left on the SEC schedule for the Tigers.

Texas A&M

Things get interesting right off the bat. The Tigers are most comfortable offensively when they can run the football. Sure, that is a generic fact which could apply to a lot of programs, but the Tigers really thrive on running, even with a 3,000-yard passer like Jarrett Stidham.

But with a stagnant running game at times, Stidham’s numbers have declined and his effectiveness as a passer have been diminished, as his 129.53 QB rating — against last year’s 150.99 — attests.

Texas A&M leads the SEC in rushing defense, allowing only 571 rushing yards all season (81.57 per game). That’s not good news for Auburn. It’s even worse news if “Boobee” Whitlow is not fully healed or unable to go on Saturday after leaving the Ole Miss game with an injury.

It’ll be a huge challenge for Auburn to move the ball on the ground, even with a healthy Whitlow.

At Georgia

A monumental road game against a hungry Bulldogs team that will have no problem finding things from last year’s game at Jordan-Hare to fill their bulletin board. Auburn’s struggles Between the Hedges are well documented.

The Tigers haven’t won in Athens since 2005 when a No. 15 Auburn team pulled out a 31-30 victory. The last time an unranked Auburn team won in Athens was last century, 35-21 at Sanford Stadium in 1999.

Yes, in the South’s Oldest Rivalry, the cards appear stacked against the Tigers, who have won just three times in the past 13 meetings between the two teams.

At Alabama

You could almost apply the same information above to the Iron Bowl. The Tigers bounced the Crimson Tide last season but it was one of only three victories in the past 10 Iron Bowl games.

Auburn last won at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2010 when the No. 2 Tigers rallied for a 28-27 victory. But the last time an unranked Auburn team won in Tuscaloosa was a 17-7 triumph in 2002.

That’s not to completely disregard the Tigers’ chances of winning the two previous games and gain an national ranking, but the odds are against it. And they aren’t much better for this game, either.

Yes, it is certainly an uphill climb for head coach Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers, who still seek one more victory to become bowl eligible. They face three extremely tough SEC opponents in their quest to play in the postseason.

And don’t expect Liberty to roll over, either, in Auburn’s final non-conference game of the season on Nov. 17. The Flames (4-3) are having a decent season in their first year in FBS.