Field Street Forum

After two SEC road games sandwiched around an open date, Georgia returns to Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium Saturday for the first time since Sept. 7 when it plays host to Auburn (2-3, 0-2 SEC). This will be only Georgia’s second home game of the year.

The Deep South’s oldest rivalry continues when the Bulldogs tangle with the Tigers. This will be the 129th meeting, which ranks second in NCAA history for “Most Played Rivalries,” trailing only Wisconsin-Minnesota (133 times). Georgia leads the AU series 64-56-8. The all-time series results with the Tigers can be found on page four of these notes.

Last year, Georgia edged Auburn 27-20 on the Plains. The Bulldogs are 8-1 against the Tigers under Kirby Smart and have won the past seven meetings. During the regular season in 2017, then No. 10 Auburn upset No. 2 Georgia 40-17 on the Plains. The Bulldogs responded a few weeks later in the SEC Championship Game with a 28-7 victory over the Tigers.

Both teams enter this game looking to respond after a tough loss. Last Saturday in Tuscaloosa, No. 2 Georgia fell behind 28-0, rallied to take a brief 34-33 lead only to see the No. 4 Crimson Tide answer to post a 41-34 win. Georgia gained 519 yards on 76 plays but had four turnovers plus surrendered 547 yards on 65 plays.

On the Plains, the Tigers saw an 11-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate capped by a 61-yard pick-six by Kip Lewis to give No. 21 Oklahoma a 27-21 SEC road win.

In the Kirby Smart era, the Bulldogs are 13-3 after a loss and haven’t lost back-to-back games in the regular season since 2016, his first year at the helm. The last seven times Georgia has lost a game, it has won its next contest. Back in 2016, Georgia fell to Vanderbilt in Athens on Oct. 15 and then to Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29. Georgia dropped its final two games of the 2018 postseason, falling to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and then were upset by No. 15 Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Through the first three games of the season, the Bulldogs were the only FBS team that did not allow a TD as opponents combined for six field goals. Georgia limited then 14th-ranked Clemson to three points, Tenn. Tech kicked a field goal on the final play of the game and UK made four field goals. However last Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., fourth-ranked Alabama built a 28-0 lead on the Bulldogs and hung on for a 41-34 win.

Going into the game with the Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs were one of just three teams in FBS that did not have a turnover on the season. Then, the Bulldogs had four in the loss. They now are even in Turnover Margin this season. Meanwhile, Auburn is minus 11 in Turnover Margin after five games.

Georgia enters this week’s game against Auburn ranked 18th nationally in Scoring Defense (14.8 ppg) and 52nd in Scoring Offense (32.3 ppg). The Tigers are 38th nationally in Scoring Defense (18.8 ppg) and 42nd in Scoring Offense (33.4 ppg).

Did You Know? The Bulldogs were the only FBS team to finish the 2023 season nationally ranked in the top five in both Scoring Offense (40.1 ppg/5th) and Scoring Defense (15.6 ppg/5th).

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