When Auburn collapsed in Death Valley last season, blowing a 20-point lead in a loss to LSU, Gus Malzahn's message was simple: It's not the end of the world.

Malzahn's team is going back to that same well following its most recent loss to LSU, a 22-21 stunner in which Auburn squandered a two-score lead in the second half before falling on a last-second Cole Tracy field goal.

"It's not the end of the world," defensive end Marlon Davidson said. "We still got a lot of games to play. We still got a chance to win the SEC and national championship. One game doesn't define our team or our year. It's how you bounce back from it."

Auburn was able to do that last season, rattling off five straight wins to claim the SEC West title following its mid-October loss in Baton Rouge. No. 9 Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC) faces another uphill climb this time around, and the Tigers are hoping to quickly get over their heartbreak before hosting a struggling Arkansas (1-2, 0-0) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

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"You got to flush it, man," Davidson said. "We just got to flush it. That's all we got to do: Flush it and play the next game. Flush it, play the next game, because this game here, it can beat us. If we let it sit in our mind, it can beat us the rest of the year. We'll live off this game. For us, as Auburn, we got to move on. We got to move past it this week."

Auburn doesn't want to let its loss to LSU be a definitive moment in a disappointing season. Namely, it doesn't want to let last weekend's letdown bleed over into this week's game -- or any ensuing game for that matter.

That can happen if you don't "flush it," as Davidson said. As cliche as it sounds, one team can beat you twice, and one unexpected and heartbreaking loss can snowball into bigger issues as the season progresses.

It's on Auburn to make sure that doesn't happen this year.

"Just prevail," safety Jeremiah Dinson said. "Just move on. It's one loss; everybody can't be sad about this loss. After (Sunday), after we watch film, it's on to Arkansas. We just got to look at this loss and take lessons from it and move on."

That's easier said than done. Both David and Davidson spoke of how tough of a loss this one was. If it compares to last year's collapse on the road, then it will certainly rank among the most difficult losses of Malzahn's tenure, as he has previously cited the 2017 LSU game and the 2013 BCS National Championship Game loss to Florida State.

The onus will be on Auburn's leaders -- like Davis and Davidson, among others -- to help rally the team this week in practice. Davis said after the game that coaches already came to him about that matter, though he conceded there's not a lot he has to say to his teammates following a game that many maintained they should have won but "let it slip" away.

"I know we got to respond in the right way," Davis said. "One (loss) can't turn into two or three or -- after this game is done, it's done. We got to put it behind us. We still got a tough road in front of us, so we can't let this game dictate our season."

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.