ATHENS — Georgia football is back on the road, and the Bulldogs offense could be in for a bumpy ride.
Auburn ranks sixth in the nation in yards per carry allowed (2.56) and is one of only three SEC teams — and 14 FBS teams — that has yet to allow more than 24 points in a game this season.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who will be looking for his ninth-straight win in the Auburn series, has taken note.
“They’re really twitchy even at the inside positions,” Smart said of the Tigers’ defensive front. “Two edge rushers that are probably their premier players on defense, they both can cause havoc, can wreck a game plan, get off the ball, rush the passer, they do a good job changing up their looks, so it’s not like ‘oh just let them sit here and rush.’
“They change things up with a lot of different looks and pressures, and getting those guys in one-on-one situations is their goal and they do a good job.”
Compounding the challenge for Georgia, the Bulldogs are banged up on the offensive line, with veteran tackles Monroe Freeling (ankle) and Earnest Greene lll (back) listed as “questionable” to play on the availability report this week.
Senior guard Micah Morris is expected to play, but he, too, has been battling bumps and bruises, temporarily exiting the Kentucky game Saturday while holding his shoulder and missing practice time the week before with a hamstring injury.
Those injuries haven’t changed Georgia’s preferred plan of establishing the run game to help keep pressure off first-year starter Gunner Stockton and set up play-action passes.
The Bulldogs, despite starting five different offensive line combinations in five games, still rank 26th in the nation with 206.8 yards per game rushing.
Things to know for Saturday’s game
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium (capacity 88,043)
Rankings and records: No. 10 Georgia (4-1, 2-1 SEC); Auburn (3-2, 0-2)
TV/radio: ABC/Georgia Bulldog Sports Network and SiriusXM 132 or 192
Weather: Sunny with a high of 79 degrees and a low of 53
Series: Georgia leads 65-56-8. Georgia won in Athens last season 31-13.
Key injuries: Georgia — OT Monroe Freeling (ankle) is questionable, OT Earnest Greene lll (back) is questionable; TE Ethan Barbour (ankle) is out; Auburn — WR Horatio Fields (foot), RB Durell Robinson (leg).
Last meeting: Georgia scored on its opening possession and never trailed on its way to a workmanlike 31-13 victory in a game that saw Florida transfer Trevor Etienne score two rushing touchdowns and then-UGA quarterback Carson Beck pass for two more.
Betting line: Georgia opened as a 3½-point favorite as of Friday.
Tickets: The game is sold out. Tickets on the secondary market having been selling this week over face value, starting at $216 in the upper level and $274 each in the lower deck.
Storylines
Auburn X-factor
When Auburn landed quarterback Jackson Arnold out of the transfer portal from Oklahoma, most everyone knew he would be the key to the Tigers’ season, and he will be the most pivotal figure in the game Saturday. Arnold, a 5-star recruit and the No. 4 quarterback in the 2023 class, is a true dual threat who has captured Smart’s attention, with the UGA coach saying: “He’s a really elite runner, and he’s tough and physical. He’s not just an escape artist; he is a 210-, 220-pound, thick guy that can get north and south on you.”
Freeze out?
An Auburn loss would mean another cold start to the SEC schedule for third-year coach Hugh Freeze, as the Tigers would drop to 0-3 in league play for the second consecutive season and fall to the brink of College Football Playoff consideration elimination. Freeze is 14-16 and 5-13 in SEC play as Auburn’s head coach.
Freeze addressed rumors about his job security Wednesday, saying he doesn’t “pay attention” to such talk.
“I’m a person of faith, and I know that my story is being written way above my pay grade,” Freeze said. “And I know we’re doing things the right way here, and we’re getting closer each game.”
Blue-and-orange streak
Georgia has won eight consecutive games over Auburn and is one short of matching its longest win streak in the so-called Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, which occurred from 1923-31 with eight of those games played in Columbus and the other played in Athens.
Red-zone battle
Georgia ranks sixth in the nation in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 67% of the time they drive that deeply into the Bulldogs’ territory. Auburn counters with the nation’s top red-zone offense, as it has scored on all 14 of the possessions it has had inside opponents’ 20-yard line, with 10 touchdowns and four field goals.
Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry
The Georgia-Auburn rivalry dates to 1892 and is tied for the second most-played rivalry in college football, with 129 meetings, surpassed by only Minnesota-Wisconsin (134 meetings). The Bulldogs are 19-12-2 against the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The series was played in Columbus from 1916-28 and 1930-58.
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