AUBURN —  The 24th-ranked Auburn football team returned to work Tuesday with a 110-minute practice as the Tigers prepared for Saturday’s home game against the Florida Gators.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn noted the team’s effort during Tuesday’s practice and said the Tigers have a big challenge preparing to face the Florida defense.

“I felt like we had a solid practice,” Malzahn said. “The guys wanted to come out and work tonight. We have our work cut out for us. We put our game plan in today and you could tell they were eager to execute the plan.”

Florida brings the league’s third-best scoring defense into Saturday’s game. The Gators are allowing 19.2 points per game. The Gators are also allowing just 30.8 percent third down conversions, the third-best mark in the SEC.

“Florida has a lot of very good athletes on defense,” Malzahn said. “They are extremely talented up front. Their linebackers can really run. They are big and athletic and present a lot of challenges.”

Auburn (4-2, 2-1 SEC) and Florida (4-2, 2-2 SEC) will kick off at 6 p.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN.

The Tigers and Gators are meeting for the 83rd time, but first since 2007. Each of the last four games in the series has been decided in the final minute of play, with Auburn winning three of the four.

Auburn and Florida have combined to win four of the last seven SEC Championships and three of the last five BCS National Championships. Since 2004, Florida and Auburn have the second and third best records in SEC play, respectively. Florida is 42-18 (.700) against SEC teams while Auburn is 41-18 (.695) against the league in that span.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations