Auburn's 34-28 victory against Alabama has been penned by many members of the media as one of the greatest finishes in college football history.
With the nation's media focused on Auburn after two consecutive thrilling victories, head coach Gus Malzahn said it's important the Tigers not lose focus on Missouri and the SEC Championship Game.
"That is our biggest challenge as a team,"Malzahn said. "It was a very emotional win. It was a physical game, but we have to put it behind us and we have to put all of our attention on Missouri."
A bye week followed Auburn's last minute victory against Georgia Nov. 16th, something Malzahn said was critical in getting the team prepared for Alabama.
"I think any time you have a week to get over the emotion of a game, it definitely helps," Malzahn said. "This is a challenge that is a little bit different. We only have one week."
The Iron Bowl victory kept the Tigers' BCS National Championship opportunities alive, but Malzahn said the team wasn't focused on that yet.
"This game is big enough," Malzahn said. "We are playing for the SEC Championship, so they are going to be focused on that. There's no doubt in my mind. We'll worry about all of that afterward and see what happens."
Senior fullback Jay Prosch echoed a similar sentiment as his head coach.
"We know that we have a job to do Saturday," Prosch said. "I think it would be easy for us in the past to get ahead of ourselves, but we didn't and I think it's going to stay that way. Whatever happens after that is what happens."
Prosch said a break from practice Monday would be beneficial in helping the team unwind from the excitement of the Iron Bowl.
"I think it's good that we have today to relax so we just get to relax and try to forget about it," Prosch said. "With the excitement of the SEC Championship I don't think we'll have a problem moving forward and focusing on Missouri."
Malzahn said little would change during Auburn's week of preparation for the SEC Championship Game.
"You try to put a little extra time in earlier in the week just to get familiar with them, but after you get going, teams at this point in the year, they do pretty much what got them there," Malzahn said.
Despite trying to move on from the excitement of the Iron Bowl, Prosch said he realized how improbable many of Auburn's finishes have been this season.
"Obviously, I think that God has something to do with it," Prosch said. "It's just amazing that this keeps happening. I think we definitely deserve it and we've put in the work to win the games.
"I wouldn't say it was luck. We've put in the work to be where we're at."
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