AUBURN | Against Arkansas, Auburn missed a field goal, forced a 3-and-out and then Anders Carlson made the game-winning field goal all in the final 2:38 of the game.

At South Carolina, the Tigers drove 71 yards to the USC 9-yard line looking to tie the game before turning it over on downs in the final seconds. Even in a 29-13 win over Kentucky in the opener, Auburn took advantage of a fumble and a turnover on downs to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach.

It was no different in this Saturday’s win at Ole Miss, which included a game-winning 58-yard touchdown pass and two big defensive stops in the final 2:25. Auburn is certainly making a habit of playing close, four-quarter games this season.

“So it went down to the very end. That's just the way this year is going,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “But we've got an extremely tough week last week and our guys held it together. They fought and this will be some good momentum for us moving forward with the way we won.”

That the defense gave up 437 yards against Arkansas, but forced a 3-and-out with 2:06 left, and gave up 444 at Ole Miss but forced a 3-and-out with 2:25 left and then stopped a potential game-tying drive with an interception at the 5-yard line is a testament to their never-say-die attitude.

“We've just got to keep fighting, play Auburn football and keep fighting, no matter how hard it gets, just don't give up,” linebacker Owen Pappoe said.

It was Bo Nix that connected with Seth Williams for the 58-yard catch and run that capped 6-play, 80-yard drive with 1:11 remaining in the game. The Rebels drove to AU’s 29-yard line before Jordyn Peters made the game-saving interception.

“We just never quit fighting and we continued to battle and battle and battle,” said Nix. “They stopped us there the second to last drive and our defense got the ball right back to us. We knew with two minutes and 30 seconds, we could go down and make big things happen.

“Seth made a great play. We just never lost hope. We were in it from the get-go and our guys fought and it really showed.”

Auburn, which improved to 3-2, will host an LSU team that improved to 2-2 with a 52-24 win over South Carolina. Both teams have had their share of ups and downs this season and both will likely be preparing for another four-quarter dogfight.

It's a series that's had more than it's share of exciting finishes.

“I think that's huge for us -- and we've got LSU at home,” said Pappoe after the Ole Miss win. “We had a really close game with them last year, so we're going to redeem ourselves next Saturday coming up at home. So I think us being at home is a big advantage for us, and we're really looking forward to this game.”

Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.