Bruce Pearl hasn’t seen many smiles around Neville Arena the last couple days.

Since returning from Athens, Ga., following a disconcerting double-digit road loss to a rebuilding Georgia team on Wednesday night, No. 22 Auburn hasn’t found much of a reason to be happy. The Tigers have been businesslike and introspective the last two days as they look to rebound Saturday for what will be their toughest test to date — a 7:30 p.m. showdown at home against No. 13 Arkansas.

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“Our guys want to win,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Friday. “We had a great preparation for Georgia, didn’t get it done, and so far it’s been a good preparation against Arkansas, but we know that Arkansas is the best team we’ve played so far this year. So, it’s going to take something special.”

It’s going to take something more than Auburn has been able to produce in recent weeks. Since beating Colgate on Dec. 2 to improve to 8-0, Auburn is just 3-3 over the last month of games, including a 1-3 mark away from Neville Arena. Pearl said after that Colgate win that if the Tigers didn’t start playing better, they would start to struggle as the schedule ramped up.

That’s just what has happened.

While Auburn has still been a quality team this season and has seen growth in some areas, it has not been without its issues, which have produced setbacks in the win-loss column. The latest loss, by 12 against the Bulldogs and first-year coach Mike White this week, resulted in a team meeting before practice Thursday that Pearl said showed good accountability from his players.

“We talked about just improving our energy, coming out there and being more vocal in practice,” senior Allen Flanigan said. “Just constantly talking the whole practice while we’re on defense, making sure guys are in the right spots. We talked about leadership, getting on guys when they’re not doing what they’re supposed to and not going as hard as they can. Just holding everybody accountable.”

It’s a promising sign for a team with a veteran core as it looks to get back on track. While it’s a step in the right direction and shows a willingness by the players to take responsibility, Auburn is sure to have its hands full against a talented Arkansas team at Neville Arena on Saturday night.

Where there’s a challenge, though, there’s also opportunity. In Auburn’s case, it’s a chance at its biggest win of the season — and one that will surely keep the Tigers ranked in the top-25 of the AP poll, where they’ve resided for 28 consecutive weeks.

“It’s like chopping wood, man,” Pearl said. “We just, we’re chopping wood. We’re grinding. We get to the next play. You can’t let the highs get too high. You can’t let the lows (get) too low. We’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity that we have. This is a chance to stay in the top-25, if we can get it. That’s part of making history. That’s kind of what we play for, but in order to do that, we’ll have to have our best effort.

“We’ll have to have the best game, We’ll have to play the best we’ve played all year long.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.