It’s time for Auburn to hit the road.

Following a five-game homestand to open the season, Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will play it first game away from Jordan-Hare Stadium when it travels to Athens, Ga., on Saturday for its cross-division rivalry game against No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0). The Tigers and Bulldogs will square off at Sanford Stadium for the 127th installment of the stories rivalry, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn bracing for fistfight against “bully on the block” Georgia

Brandon Council confident Auburn offensive line can “demolish” Georgia defensive front

Auburn trying to build on Robby Ashford’s best game to date heading into QB’s first road start

Before Auburn embarks on its first road trip of the season, looking to snap a seven-game losing streak between the hedges, coach Bryan Harsin previewed the matchup during his weekly radio appearance on “Tiger Talk.” Harsin joined hosts Andy Burcham and Brad Law for his final public comments ahead of the game.

Below is a quick recap of Harsin’s remarks on Thursday’s show:

BRYAN HARSIN

— Says the team is looking forward to getting on the road and experiencing that for the first time this season.

— Game prep doesn’t change much during the week, at least until Friday, because they need to factor in travel. That part — and navigating all the variables that come with it — is the most challenging part of the week when playing a road game.

— On Robby Ashford’s start against LSU: Stood in the pocket, kept his eyes downfield and operated the offense well. Needs to improve taking care of the football. Ashford threw an interception and fumbled four times, losing one of them.

— On Brandon Council’s shift to center: His physicality and experience brought a lot to the table. Notes the run game needs to keep improving — “it was feast or famine.” Believes the line did better protecting the quarterback but needs to be more consistent there too.

— On losing Eku Leota for the season: “His presence is exactly what we want to have on this football team. He’s a leader. He prepares. He does everything right.” Notes depth at edge is a concern beyond Derick Hall. Marcus Bragg and Dylan Brooks will see more reps moving forward. “We’ll overcome that. The guys that have been playing will need to raise their level as well.”

— Thinks Marcus Bragg will be better, and has to be better, this week against Georgia. He had four tackles and a sack against LSU after stepping in for Eku Leota.

— Says Wesley Steiner stepped up last week with 11 tackles, but Auburn will be getting starting linebacker Cam Riley back for the Georgia game.

— Defense “has played well” in SEC play. Tigers allowing 14 points per game. They’ve given up just 14 points total in the last six quarters, plus overtime. “You can’t have just one phase playing at a high level; all three have to.”

— Notes Auburn needs to win the turnover battle at Georgia. Auburn has one of the nation’s worst turnover margins this season at minus-nine.

— On the rivalry games he grew up watching: Boise State-Idaho “was a big one” when both teams were at the FCS level. NFL rivalry: Seahawks-Broncos. He also knew when the Iron Bowl was going on, also the Alabama-Georgia games, as well as the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma (which he was part of while he was OC at Texas a decade ago).

— Quick aside: Bryan Harsin has played in Athens before. Boise State traveled there in 2005. Harsin was Boise State’s tight ends coach that year. It was also the last year that Auburn won a game at Georgia.

— On what he has seen from this Georgia team compared to last year’s CFP title winner: “They’ve reloaded…. The standard continues to be the same for that team. They have a very high standard in all three phases…. I don’t think there’s much of a drop-off whatsoever, from what I’ve seen, from this team.”

— Harsin says Georgia has been more creative offensively. He has mentioned tight end Brock Bowers a couple times now. Clearly a player Auburn will need to focus on this weekend.

— On Georgia QB Stetson Bennett: “He’s a winner…. He can throw it plenty good enough. He’s fast enough. He’s elusive…. The reason they won a national championship is because he was playing for them.”

— Believes Auburn’s front seven matches up well against Georgia’s offensive line. Harsin thinks Auburn can slow down the Bulldogs’ run game, but gotta see how they do in terms of pass rush (especially without Eku Leota).

— Harsin reiterates that defensive lineman Colby Wooden will see more time on the outside of the line with Eku Leota out. Wooden has the versatility, and before he bulked up to be more of an interior lineman, he was an edge defender early in his Auburn career.

— On approaching noise on the road: Pump it in at practice and work on silent counts offensively. Tell players to assume they won’t be able to hear each other. Of course, there’s a trade-off: Defense should be able to communicate better/hear each other because crowd will be quiet when Georgia has the ball.

— On the importance of the rivalry, especially for the players from Georgia and Alabama: “There’s certainly an emotional factor and a pride that comes with it.”

— “One of the best parts of being on the road is getting the opportunity to go into somebody’s house and get a win.”

— Key to run game: Consistency. Can’t be discouraged by shorter gains but need to eliminate the negative plays.

— Defensive keys this week: Win one-on-one battles, do well against the run, force Georgia into obvious passing situations. “Ultimately on the defensive side, it’s playing fast and violent.”

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