Auburn controls destiny

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Don’t bother mentioning the Iron Bowl to Auburn. The seventh-ranked Tigers refuse to think that far ahead.

“I’m not going to talk about Alabama,” Auburn linebacker Cassanova McKinzy said Saturday after the Tigers’ 55-23 rout of Tennessee. “I’m just going to talk about Georgia. The only thing we can do is prepare for Georgia and take it one game at a time.”

That’s the same approach that has helped Auburn (9-1, 5-1 SEC) make the biggest turnaround of any team in the nation.

One year after going 3-9 and failing to earn a single SEC victory, Auburn heads into its final two regularseason games in control of its destiny in the Western Division race. If Auburn beats No. 25 Georgia next weekend, it would set the stage for a Nov. 30 showdown with top-ranked Alabama in the most anticipated Iron Bowl since Cam Newton rallied the Tigers to a 28-27 victory at Tuscaloosa in their 2010 national championship season.

Both Georgia and Alabama have to travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn already has completed its road schedule.

“We’ll enjoy this one,” Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn said after the Tennessee game. “That’s the only thing on our minds. That’s been our mindset all year.”

“Coming off a 3-9 season last year, coach Malzahn said this is going to be the biggest turnaround in college football,” Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall said. “All of us bought into that and (are) just doing what the coaches tell us to keep winning.”