The Georgia Bulldogs head West to the plains of Auburn Saturday for a cross-division clash in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
What’s at stake?
Oh, ya know, just a Top 15 win over an SEC rival, a chance to clinch the East and an opportunity to keep playoff hopes alive.
The Dawgs got caught off guard at Auburn in 2017, entering the game ranked No. 1 in the nation. Will Georgia be able to get revenge for that loss in its first trip back since?
Stakes will be high at kickoff on Saturday, but which team will come out on top? We’re going with the Dawgs, and we gave you 5 reasons why Georgia will win the game earlier this week. But let’s not take the Tigers lightly. They are a team that is more than capable of taking down Georgia.
Here are 5 reasons Auburn could grab the victory and put an end to Georgia’s season.
Let’s dive in.
1. Auburn’s defensive line
Perhaps the most talked about aspect entering this game for Auburn, the defensive front, will be ready to play on Saturday.
The Tigers are absolutely loaded in the trenches defensively, with Derrick Brown, Nick Coe and Kat Bryant, but just how much pressure can they get on the Bulldogs?
Georgia has its own wall of big boys on the offensive side, with Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson, Trey Hill (see below) so we don’t expect the Auburn defense to have a field day against the Bulldogs, but they can certainly make life a bit miserable.
If the run game gets shut down like it did up front in 2017, Georgia will find itself heavily reliant on the passing game. With a banged up Lawrence Cager, things might not come as easily through the air as they did in Jacksonville, which is definitely a cause for concern.
Look for the Tigers’ defense to try and force the Dawgs to air it out as much as possible.
2. The bye week
Auburn is one of many teams that was fortunate enough to enjoy a bye week before playing Georgia.
After losing to LSU, Auburn returned home to take on Ole Miss, winning only 20-14.
The bye could not have come at a better time for Gus Malzahn and his team, who were starting to trend downward.
Meanwhile, Georgia took on Missouri and was dominant, but left the game pretty banged up.
Auburn has had time to heal up and game-plan for Georgia. With the Tigers’ less-than-impressive offense going up against Georgia’s defense, which is arguably the best in the country, you can expect a well-coordinated plan from Malzahn and the Tigers.
3. Georgia is banged up
As previously mentioned, Georgia is pretty banged up as the Dawgs head down the final stretch of the season. The 27-0 win over Missouri was nice, but it definitely came at a cost as Georgia lost a multitude of players to injuries.
Lawrence Cager, Georgia’s leading receiver, left the game with an injury. Trey Hill, the Dawgs’ starting center, left with an ankle injury and will surely be less mobile Saturday against Derrick Brown and the Tigers’ front. Versatile lineman Cade Mays left with a hurt ankle but indicated that he was good to go. And right tackle Isaiah Wilson also left the game on Saturday, however, he was able to return.
Smart said none of these injuries were too serious, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on. Auburn plays physical football, and this one is sure to be a bloodbath, so hopefully the banged up Bulldogs will be good enough to give it their all.
4. History is not on Smart’s side
Since arriving at Georgia, Smart has not had much success vs. SEC West programs on the road.
In 2016, Smart’s first year at Georgia, his Bulldogs got pummeled by Ole Miss in Oxford.
The next year, 2017, Smart and Georgia got pummeled by Auburn on the road.
Then last year, Smart’s team got pummeled again in Baton Rouge, losing to LSU 36-16.
So, Smart is 0-3 on the road vs schools from the other division since becoming head coach at Georgia. And the scary part is, he’s lost by a combined score of 121-47.
In 2017, Georgia lost to Auburn 40-17 and then turned around and beat the Tigers a few weeks later in Atlanta. This season, Auburn’s not making it to the SEC Championship, so Smart will get one shot at taking Malzahn down.
5. Jordan-Hare Stadium
Auburn has played three big games this season; Oregon, Florida, and LSU.
In those games, it is 1-2. However, none of those games were at home.
Now, Auburn finally gets its big one on the Plains. Actually, two big ones…Alabama comes to town in the final week of the season, too.
If you’ve never been to Jordan-Hare, I suggest you check it out. Sure, we hate Auburn, but we can respect a great environment and wild fanbase.
Auburn, though it’s lost two games this season, still has somewhat of an outside shot at making the playoff if it can beat Georgia and Alabama and hope for a few losses from other top programs along the way. It’s unlikely, but all hope is not lost. With that being said, this place is going to be rocking.
Additionally, Auburn sort of controls the outcome of the 2019 college football season.
If Georgia wants to make the playoff, it needs to beat Auburn.
If Alabama wants to make the playoff, it needs to beat Auburn.
If Oregon wants to make the playoff, it would love some help from Auburn, who beat the Ducks early in the season. Auburn beating both Georgia and Bama would make Oregon’s loss a lot more forgivable in the eyes of the committee.
The atmosphere is going to be nuts. The sun will set and the place will only become more electric, making life even tougher on Fromm and the Georgia offensive line.
All in all, I’m projecting a 24-13 Georgia victory, but I could easily see this game going the way of the Barn, or even significantly in the Dawgs’ favor.
Georgia matches up very well with Auburn on paper, but the Tigers will certainly make things as difficult as possible with Jordan-Hare Stadium bumping music through the loudspeakers of that space-aged scoreboard.
