Idaho and Charleston Southern provide the warm-up games for Auburn and Alabama, respectively, this weekend. After that, they get each other in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama at Auburn on Nov. 28 was a much bigger deal in the preseason than it is now. Back then, it was presumed that this matchup would settle the SEC West and vault the winner into a playoff spot. Now it still does, but only for Alabama. The Crimson Tide are at the top of the division, Auburn is at the bottom.

Alabama has a one-game lead in the SEC West but still has to beat Auburn. A second conference loss could drop them into a tie with Ole Miss, which wouldn’t be good. Ole Miss holds the tiebreaker on Alabama thanks to its 43-37 win back in September.

With Charleston Southern coming into Tuscaloosa this weekend, it would make sense for Alabama to look a little farther ahead and start the preparations for Auburn.

Auburn doesn’t have the same luxury. At 5-5, the Tigers need one more win to become bowl eligible. Idaho this week is much easier than Alabama next week, so the Tigers need to play a complete game Saturday to get that sixth win.

Sitting at 3-7, the Vandals seem like they should be no problem. Their 127th-ranked run defense should give Jovon Robinson, Peyton Barber and others a chance to set some season-high numbers. Such a lenient ground game will also give the passing game some space and time to develop, regardless of who plays at quarterback, Jeremy Johnson or the banged-up Sean White

But Auburn should heed the lessons other SEC teams learned the hard way earlier this season, when they rushed in as favorites against nonconference opponents but limped out with losses. No game is a guarantee. For a team that’s struggled all season, the Tigers simply cannot afford to take any team for granted.

Auburn coaches have talked about not looking ahead to the Iron Bowl. They have repeated and emphasized the importance of the Idaho game. Will thoughts of Alabama sneak into this week’s preparations? Of course, it’s inevitable. A rivalry the size of Alabama-Auburn and is impossible to ignore.