One of the beautiful things about SEC football is that there
are real rivalries on the schedule each and every year that you have to look
forward to. For Georgia, more than half of their games in a given season could
be considered rivalry games. At the end of the day, there are some rivalries
that are more important than others.
Georgia’s top rival is obviously Florida, but I would submit
to you that next in line for Georgia’s most hated rival would be the Auburn
Tigers. Some people might argue Tech, but in reality, Tech isn’t a rivalry,
it’s just a trap game for the Dawgs year in and year out.
The Georgia/Auburn game is the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry,
and for the second consecutive year, Georgia travels to the Plains.
What a difference a year makes.
Last year, Georgia went to Auburn looking to clinch the SEC
East. The Dawgs throttled the Tigers, 38-0 en route to the SEC title game and
ultimately a New Year’s Day bowl. The Tigers didn’t win a game in the SEC last
year, fired their coach, and hired former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as
their new head coach.
This year, the Tigers are 9-1 and control their own destiny
in the SEC West, with their yearly showdown against Alabama still looming in
two weeks. The Tigers are one of the best stories in college football no matter
what happens tomorrow afternoon.
Two weeks ago I told anyone who would listen that Georgia
had zero chance of beating Auburn. Georgia has since beaten Florida and
Appalachian State, and for some reason I’m starting to think that Georgia could
pull off the upset. Don’t get me wrong, I can always figure out a reason for
Georgia to win, but I really feel like the Dawgs are going to get it done.
Here’s why.
First, Georgia is getting some of its weapons back. Lynch is
back. Connelly is back. That helps of course. Perhaps, after another week of
practice, Todd Gurley will be close to 100%. Auburn hasn’t done a great job
stopping the run this season, so a steady diet of Todd Gurley would put Georgia
in a much better position to pull off the upset.
Auburn is fantastic at rushing the passer, but their pass
rush will suffer if Gurley is a factor. I think Gurley is going to have one of
his best games as a Dawg tomorrow. I think he’s going for 150 yards and two
touchdowns. He might not win the Doak Walker award for the nation’s best
running back, but that is what he is, and tomorrow he is going to prove it.
Second reason I like Georgia. Auburn is probably the most
one dimensional team I can remember. The Tigers are amazing at running the
ball. They hardly ever throw it. They don’t have to throw it because they get
their big plays on the ground, but you would think that they will have to be a
little more balanced against a solid Georgia team. Auburn’s only loss came
against LSU. The Tigers got out to a lead by running the ball and forcing Nick
Marshall to throw the ball. What happened? Marshall threw 2 of his 5
interceptions of the season against the Tigers. Auburn loves to run the ball.
They would run the ball on every play if they could.
In the past two weeks,
Marshall has only attempted 15
passes. That is insane. What’s more impressive is that in those two games they
have scored a combined 90 points on the road in the SEC.
Georgia’s defense has been pretty bad this year to say the
least, but the one thing they have done well is stop the run. If Georgia can
slow the Auburn running attack enough to force the Tigers to throw the ball,
then there is a good chance that Georgia will win the game.
Another reason I like Georgia is history. It’s well known that
this rivalry has been dominated by road teams. Lately however, the rivalry has
been dominated by Georgia. Georgia has won 6 of 7 against the Tigers, with the
only loss coming in Auburn’s national title season of 2010. The defining moment
of the Mark Richt era also came on the road at Auburn. In 2002, Richt’s second
year in Athens, Georgia threw a late touchdown pass from David Greene to
Michael Johnson to secure a comeback victory, clinch the SEC East, and
eliminate the Tigers from the SEC West race. Without that moment, Georgia
wouldn’t have won the SEC in 2002, and who knows how the last 10 seasons would
have played out.
A lot will be made on the broadcast tomorrow about Auburn’s
quarterback Nick Marshall. Marshall was kicked off of Georgia’s football team
as a sophomore because he was stealing from teammates in the locker room. The
truth is that Marshall would be playing safety for the Dawgs had he not been
kicked off the team, and that he never really had the impact that Georgia
thought he would have when he was here. He was a highly recruited player that
was a part of the so called Dream Team recruiting class of 2011.
Marshall isn’t the story tomorrow, but I’m sure Gary and
Vern will spend plenty of time talking about him.
There is one glaring reason to believe Auburn will win the
game, special teams. Auburn is fantastic on special teams. They scored on
special teams last week against Tennessee. Georgia is as bad on special teams
as you can possibly be. Georgia’s problems have been cleaned up the last two
weeks, but I’m not as worried about Georgia fumbling a snap on a punt as I am
worried that Auburn is going to run back a punt, or two, for a touchdown.
Georgia has to be sound on special teams if they are going to win.
I’ve already told you I think Georgia wins this game, but
here comes my surprise: it’s not going to be close.
The Tigers have been a
great story, but the reality of the situation is that they are a pretty good
team that has played a weak schedule who only has one win of any kind of significance.
Auburn outscored A&M in College Station a few weeks ago, but they are going
to have to stop Georgia if they expect to win, because Georgia’s defense might
not be great, but it is better than A&M’s defense.
Georgia is battle tested. They are back on track after their
mid-season struggles.
Gurley is going to play great, Murray is going to be Murray,
the defense is going to play well enough, and Nick Marshall is going to turn
the ball over.
I wouldn’t have guessed it two weeks ago.
Georgia 41 Auburn 24
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