If there has been any football team in the Southeastern Conference this decade that has given LSU a solid helping of trouble, it’s another Tiger team — Auburn.The out-of-state Tigers have battled LSU to a combined 171-165 total score since 2000, with LSU holding the six-point edge. The Bayou Bengal Tigers also hold a 5-4 record against Auburn in that span.No. 9 LSU currently holds a two-game winning streak against Auburn, but the teams had gone back and forth exchanging victories with the home team winning every game until last season.The two teams will round out the decade-long battle this weekend when LSU (5-1) hosts Auburn (5-2) in Tiger Stadium on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.”The traditions between these two teams are steep,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “They are two of the more successful teams in our conference, teams that are used to playing in tight games, and this will be another great Saturday night in Tiger Stadium if history repeats itself.”This matchup has also been a Saturday headliner virtually every season in the decade, as at least one of the teams was ranked each season and both teams were ranked in the past six games.The games have proven to be worth the hype, as the average margin of victory in the last five matches is four points.”For one, it’s a rivalry game,” said LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. “Auburn is a tough team no matter what year it is. You can’t look at their record because when you get on the field you are going to see a great, well-coached football team.”LSU will enter the game coming off a bye week after falling victim to Florida, 13-3. Florida was No. 1 in all polls at the time but has since fallen to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25.The Tigers are 2-2 under Miles coming off a bye, and Miles feels the extra week of preparation has helped the team to both get over the Florida loss and get ready for Auburn.”We got a lot accomplished … during the open date,” Miles said. “Our guys came to work and worked awfully hard. The point at this point in the season is the team that improves the most from this point forward has every opportunity to be in the title game, and I think they went to work that way.”Auburn comes into the weekend riding a two game losing streak after beginning the season 5-0.Its most recent loss was Saturday against Kentucky, a 21-14 upset at home.”We’ve got our work cut out for us Saturday night,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said in a teleconference. “[LSU] is a big, physical team.”Auburn also boasts the No. 2 rushing attack in the Southeastern Conference with 247.3 yards per game in their power spread offense.”Auburn has always been a downhill, smash mouth football team,” Sheppard said. “[This season] they just took that and they expanded on it with some misdirection [plays] and things like that.”Sheppard said Auburn will come into Tiger Stadium with a chip on its back with the two losses.”Auburn feels — and they have good reason to feel — that they can just overpower everyone,” Sheppard said. “They definitely have the talent there, so you have to be ready to play against them.”LSU will once again face a first year head coach — Chizik. The Tigers already faced Steve Sarkisian (Washington) and Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and won both of those games.The Tigers will also enter the matchup with a different starting quarterback for the fourth consecutive year: JaMarcus Russell (2006), Matt Flynn (2007), Jarrett Lee (2008) and Jordan Jefferson (2009).Jefferson will look to keep the Tigers from losing back-to-back home games for the first time since 2001, when LSU lost to Florida and Ole Miss.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]