Leading up to its bye week, multiple Auburn players viewed it as an opportunity to reset entering the second half of the season.

The Tigers went into the bye week following three straight losses, most recently a 31-13 loss to Georgia, its most lopsided of the season.

“You can kind of split it into two seasons now,” Payton Thorne said after the Georgia loss. “Like you said, flush this first half and it’s time to go back to work. We have no other option.”

Auburn’s next opponent is Missouri, a different set of Tigers who are coming off a 45-3 road win against UMass. However, that win followed a 41-10 beatdown at the hands of Texas A&M.

The loss to the Aggies was Missouri’s first of the season. It was an especially rough game for the defense, giving up 512 total yards with 236 coming on the ground.

It’ll be another tough road game for Auburn, but one where a win could go a long way for confidence and moral.

“We told them, ‘We only finished one season. We’re done with this season now,’” sophomore defensive end Keldric Faulk said. “We’re coming into this bye week 0-0 and we want to start the new season off 1-0. That’s our goal and that’s what we’re gonna work to achieve.”

Television and Radio broadcast info

Auburn’s matchup with Missouri will be televised on ESPN at 11 a.m. The radio broadcast will be featured on the Auburn Sports Network.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m