The LSU Tigers (sixth in AP's top 25) will host the Auburn Tigers in a Saturday night battle of two teams from the crowded southeastern conference (SEC).

Both teams are 3-0 and had to overcome some kind of offseason adversity to get there. LSU saw defensive stars like Tyrann Mathieu leave for the NFL as well as their leading rusher get arrested for a bar fight. Auburn has already matched its win total from last year and has never seemed the same since Cam Newton led them to a National Championship in 2011 and left for the NFL that spring.

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LSU has looked impressive thus far with an efficient passing offense under offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Still head football coach Les Miles said Auburn would be a welcome challenge for his team.

"This is the kind of game we need," Miles said, according to the Associated Press. "We recognize the conference we play in. Our team is ambitious. We're a team with real designs on the back end of the season. The time to work is now."

Auburn has its work cut out for them in this matchup. LSU's offense has been very efficient through the air and on the ground. Zach Mettenberger has completed 65 percent of his passes and thrown nine touchdowns and no interceptions. LSU's leading rushers, Terrence McGee and Hill have only combined for 377 yards, but have scored three touchdowns each are rushing for 8.1 and 9.8 yards per carry, respectively.

On the other hand, Auburn comes into Baton Rouge, La. to play in a stadium known for its crowd's outrageous noise levels.

"LSU has a pretty awesome stadium to play in. They get real loud," Auburn kicker Cody Parkey said. "I'm a senior, so I've played there before. We're just going to have to execute. There isn't any room for mistakes."

Nick Marshall, a junior, is in his first year as a starting quarterback for Auburn and is going to have to play better than he has this season to pull out a win. Marshall has thrown for four touchdowns with two interceptions. Still, despite a bad season last year, Auburn was competitive against LSU, losing 12-10.

Both teams have a new look and seem to be much improved, but Auburn has not won in Baton Rouge since 1999. Auburn's three wins have all come at home and this game will be Marshall's first on the road, a huge test for an unproven quarterback in college football's premier conference.

The road through the SEC is never an easy one, as both teams have games against Ole Miss (21), Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M (10), Heisman hopeful Aaron Murray and Georgia (9) and Saban's super-team Alabama (1).