There aren't many people in college football who understand the importance of not looking ahead better than Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.
He and the Tigers are not in need of any reminders of what transpired during his first season at the helm of the program, although that may have been used as motivation within the facility this week.
As it prepares to host South Alabama to round out its non-conference slate until the Mercer game, Auburn is determined to respect the Jaguars with the same preparation and focus they would give an SEC opponent.
"I wish I had the recipe to make sure," Freeze said. "But all I know to do is prepare every single week the way you would if it's an SEC game or not. We've done that. And you have to lean on the maturity and leadership of your team."
Auburn's veteran leadership not only guides the team on the field, but assists the coaching staff with preparation by setting an example for younger players to follow. This makes a difference, and is something coaches want as much of as possible.
"We're definitely young in certain spots, particularly on defense," Freeze said. "But you hope you have enough quality leaders like Keyron (Crawford) and Keldric (Faulk) and even Sylvester (Smith) and those guys who have played some snaps—that they help with that."
Kickoff for the matchup between the Tigers and Jaguars is set for 11:45 a.m. CT on Saturday, SEC Network will carry the broadcast. If all goes according to plan, Auburn will be 3-0 before its trip to Oklahoma next week.
That's not something that will happen on its own, and preparation makes the difference between adding an expected tally to the win column, or having to handle a momentum-crushing loss this early in the season.
"It's certainly something you think about. But I don't know the recipe to that," Freeze said. "I assure you our coaches have prepared and coached us as hard as they have any week to make sure that doesn't happen."