AUBURN | Auburn hasn’t caught a lot of breaks this season, and the 12th-ranked Tigers lost another close one to Georgia Saturday night.

But there’s been one facet of this team that’s been constant and unassailable — the effort. It was evident once again against the Bulldogs as AU roared back from a 21-0 deficit to score 14 points in the fourth quarter and have the ball with a chance to at least tie the game twice in the final six minutes.

“Our guys, they fought their guts out. They fought their guts out for Auburn,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “We got some hurt guys in that locker room. Give them guys credit. They've got a very talented team. We knew that coming in. Just not feeling real great right now. It was a tough loss.”

Auburn has played four teams in the top 11 of the latest CFP Rankings. The Tigers opened the season with a win over No. 6 Oregon before losses to No. 11 Florida, No. 1 LSU and No. 4 Georgia. The first three were on the road while the loss to the Bulldogs was in front of a packed and loud Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“Man, it’s tough because it’s at home in front of our fans. They really showed out and showed support,” senior offensive tackle Jack Driscoll said. “The first half didn’t go our way, but to kinda come back in the second half and be so close in the second half, it’s hard.

“That’s tough because Georgia is one of our rivals. There’s really not much to say besides the fact that it’s a sickening feeling for all of us. Look, we had opportunities to make plays but at the end unfortunately things didn’t go our way.”

Auburn will have one more opportunity to knock off a highly-rated opponent with No. 5 Alabama visiting in two weeks. The Tigers host Samford next Saturday as AU finishes out the regular season with four consecutive home games.

“It’s about you now, man. It’s about what you want to leave your legacy as,” senior defensive lineman Marlon Davidson said. “Do you want to continue to fight or do you want to lay down? I don’t lay down for nobody, period, unless I’m going to sleep. I’m standing up, and I’m going to walk it. I’m staying 10 toes down with whatever I do. I’m going to keep grinding, grinding until I punch my name into the clock.”

Auburn’s players are determined to finish this season with a couple of wins. Malzahn, especially, could use a win in the Iron Bowl. He’s now 6-15 against AU’s top three rivals — Alabama, Georgia and LSU — and 0-6 against the trio since agreeing to a huge contract extension in December of 2017.

“The team goes for, you know -- we've got a game next week, and then we play our rival right out here. That's where we're at,” Malzahn said. “I mean, we're disappointed. I think everybody could see we've got a good football team. We've had some tough, close losses; that was another one. But we have great character in our locker room. Our guys are disappointed, but they'll rebound. They'll rebound and finish this thing.”

The Samford game is scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. CT.