AUBURN | It was the biggest SEC game of the opening two weeks and Auburn was essentially a no-show.

What do the Tigers do a day after a humiliating 27-6 loss at Georgia? The answer is pretty simple according to Gus Malzahn and his players.

“Well, I think sometimes you just have to man up and you’ve got to see it like it was,” said Malzahn of a game in which the Bulldogs out-gained AU 442-216 in total yards. “They got after us. They got after us in all three phases. They out-coached us. It’s a team loss.”

Auburn can’t let this loss linger too long, however. In a COVID-influenced season, last Saturday was the second of 10 conference games. AU must prepare to host an Arkansas team that is coming off a big 21-14 win at No. 16 Mississippi State.

It’s a Razorback squad that led UGA 10-5 in the third quarter of a 37-10 loss in Week 1.

“Can't let this loss create another loss,” said linebacker K.J. Britt, one of Auburn’s four captains. “Just make sure guys are ready to play. On to the next one.”

Georgia led Auburn 24-3 at halftime before the teams played to a 3-3 draw in the second half. AU and was out-gained just 154-135 in total yards after the break. It’s not a lot to build on, but AU’s players will attempt to use it nonetheless.

“He just told us, ‘pick our heads up, keep fighting.’ One of the halftime adjustments was, basically, to keep fighting,” said safety Jamien Sherwood of Malzahn’s message. “Coming into halftime, I think it was 24-0 maybe, and at the end of the game, it was 27-6. So we just kept fighting on defense, fighting on offense. That’s all his message was. Next week, we’ve got Arkansas. Just keep playing and finish the season strong.”

Losses can also expose a lot of areas that need improvement for a coaching staff and that was certainly evident at Georgia, especially on the offensive and defensive lines.

Malzahn was adamant after the defeat, his fourth in four games in Athens, that AU would grow from this defeat.

“We’ve got a young, inexperienced team that can grow,” Malzahn said. “And we will grow. And they competed. I just said, ‘Hey, this is adversity. We’ve got eight more SEC games. It’s going to be a grind.’ Our team has potential to improve greatly, and we will. Just keep your head up and take it like it is. They got the best of us, but we’re still capable of being a good team and I really believe we will be here moving forward.”

No. 13 Auburn hosts Arkansas Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.