Auburn hopes the relentless clanging of cowbells at Davis Wade Stadium can be mitigated Saturday night in Starkville, Miss.

When No. 8 Auburn (4-1, 1-1 SEC) takes on Mississippi State (3-2, 0-2), the Tigers will have plans to defuse the Bulldogs' greatest homefield advantage -- the din of fans rattling cowbells into the October air.

Under an amended SEC rule that was passed at the annual spring meetings this year, fans now have until the center places his hand on the ball to use artificial noisemakers between plays. The rule previously limited use of such noisemakers, like Mississippi State's cowbells, to the moment the center lined up over the ball, but due to various offensive formations it became difficult to consistently enforce.

As a result of the amended rule, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said the Tigers plan to get to the line of scrimmage quickly to try to limit the sound of the cowbells this weekend.

"Yeah, he'll have his hand on that ball pretty quick," Malzahn said. "Just need to make sure the cowbells stop when his hand is on the ball."

Davis Wade Stadium shows a message on the videoboard imploring fans when to stop using the cowbells during the game, but that doesn't necessarily always work. However, officials can flag Mississippi State if they determine the cowbells aren't stopped in time.

Managing the noise at Davis Wade Stadium has been one of the areas of focus for Auburn this week as it prepares for its true road game of the season, especially with a first-year starter at center in redshirt freshman Nick Brahms, who will be making just the third start of his career on an offensive line that has had its issues with procedural penalties this season.

It's a concern that Malzahn said will be addressed this week in practice, especially when it comes to cadences and snap counts. While the sixth-year head coach said the Tigers have their ways of dealing with the noise when it comes to pre-snap communication, he said he didn't "want to incriminate us" and give away any gameplan specifics.

"I don't want to tell Mississippi State what we're doing," Malzahn said. "'Hey, we're going to raise our foot up, and if he looks between his legs--,' no."

Ultimately, though, Auburn will likely rely on a silent count against the Bulldogs.

Of course, there's always Plan B for neutralizing the clanging of the cowbells. The last time Auburn traveled to Starkville, in 2016, the Tigers jumped out to a 35-0 lead before halftime, effectively silencing the Bulldogs fans on hand.

"A lot of people talk about the cowbells, but honestly, we got up on them so quick that it wasn't really that bad," wide receiver Darius Slayton said. "So, I'm hoping the same happens again, though, because I'm not a big fan of cowbells."

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