Newly No. 1-ranked Georgia will look to continue its dominance over Auburn in the annual edition of the ‘Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry’ on Saturday in Athens, Ga.
Georgia (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) can set a series record this week with what would be a 10th straight win over the Tigers. The Bulldogs’ current nine-game stretch is tied with a Georgia winning streak from 1923-31 for the longest consecutive winning streak for either side.
“It’s an awesome rivalry,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, whose lone loss to the Tigers came in November 2017. “I have so much respect for them. …They have a lot of talent. They have good football players. It’s any given Saturday in this conference, as we see every week. It’ll be an extremely physical game (against a team) coming off an off week.”
Smart and company are coming off one of the most impressive victories of the season, a 20-17 road win over No. 6 Alabama. On paper, this game should be easier against an Auburn team which is an underdog of more than 20 points.
That likely won’t be on the list of talking points that Smart has for his team.
“We watched the tape of (the Alabama game). It was really physical.This one’s going to be really physical too,” Smart said. “I promise you that the page for us is focused on this Auburn team. They’re well rested and have a good football team coming in here.”
Veteran Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has thrown for 1,298 yards and 14 touchdowns, while running back Dwight Phillips Jr. has stepped into the shoes of injured starter Nate Frazier to lead the team with 280 yards on the ground. Phillips rushed for a career-high 120 yards against Alabama.
Auburn (3-2, 1-2) is in search of its first win in Athens since 2005. It might take a near-perfect performance from first-year head coach Alex Golesh’s team to bring it home.
The Tigers have lost eight straight games against ranked opponents and haven’t earned a ranked win away from home since Oct. 16, 2021 at then-No. 17 Arkansas.
“As we prep for Georgia, the number one team in the country, and you watch it, all three phases certainly look that way,” Golesh said. “Offensively, (Stockton) is a really, really good player, makes a lot of things go, doesn’t make a ton of mistakes. … We’ve got to play physical, as you do every week in this league, you can’t turn the football over, you have to maximize possessions.”
Led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s 1,055 passing yards and 11 touchdowns (seven passing, four rushing), the Tigers are a work in progress under a head coach in the midst of his first SEC gauntlet.
“The mentality of the team is that we have so much to prove,” Golesh said. “When we are at our best, we can play at the highest level of football. When we’re not, we’re just good enough to get embarrassed.”
Auburn has five wins all-time against top-ranked teams, last pulling off a 26-14 upset of Alabama in 2017.
