So close yet so far away Week 6
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KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Waking up on the morning of December 2nd, 2017, Auburn was 10-2 heading into a SEC Championship showdown against thier longest standing rival in football, The University of Georgia. Just three weeks earlier the Tigers dominated the Dawgs in Jordan-Hare Stadium 40-17. This absolute beatdown set the stage for a subsequent drubbing of Alabama to end the season making Auburn 2017 SEC Western Division Champions. In the first game against UGA, Auburn outgained their opponent 488 total yards to just 230, 25 1st downs to just 13, and 237 yards rushing in the game to a paltry 37. The game was topped off by an amazing play call in the form of a screen just at the right moment to send Kirby Smart back up I-85 northeast a sore loser no longer #1 in the country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujPgcvKcAls
Stop me Auburn fans if you have heard this one before. With all the momentum in the world and after destroying your two biggest rivals in back-to-back games, everything fell apart. Around here we call that JABA (Just Auburn Being Auburn). A very ticked off Georgia Bulldog team rolled into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta looking to avenge the stain of embarrassment Gus Malzahn and Auburn had delivered weeks earlier. Auburn woke up #2 in the country that morning, but after 421 total yards plus 238 rushing yards by UGA to their 259 total and 114 rushing yards for Auburn, left Atlanta looking for sleep on I-85 southwest sore losers. Quite frankly since then Auburn has not been the same. After limping home with all the momentum in the world, a college football final four berth for the taking, and watching UGA fans bark like the imbeciles they come across as while doing so, Auburn has not beaten Georgia in football. That means Auburn has lost to Georgia SEVEN YEARS in a row. The average score in that streak was UGA 29 – AU 11. The average total yards in that losing streak were UGA 436 – AU 276. We could keep doing the math for rushing yards, turnovers, time of possession and every other meaningful statistic but for vomiting sake, you get the picture. Taking a wider lens look at “The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” over the last 20 years is barely any better. Since 2024 Auburn is 5-16 against Georgia and The Dawgs now own a total record in the series dating back to 1892 64-56-8. Simply put, Georgia football is better than Auburn football currently. How does that taste Tiger fans?
Last year’s bitter defeat at home was a little closer than most over the past seven years. If not for UGA tight-end Brock Bowers, maybe one of the best college football players this author has seen in his lifetime, taking the Dawgs on his back for the victory, Auburn wins that game. The 27-20 defeat defines the Hugh Freeze era at Auburn thus far against high-quality opponents. “So close but so far way”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMkMDFjK8U
Despite the lingering negativity on the field that has defined Auburn football for now over ten years of complete mediocrity at best, the positive momentum continues to build off the field for the Tigers in recruiting. Just this week after another bitter, dumb loss to Oklahoma, Auburn picked up a commitment from 5-Star all world plus previously committed to Notre Dame QB Deuce Knight. Merry Flipmas! A great showing in Athens on the road tomorrow will in no doubt help continue that momentum. Saturday would finally be a wonderful day to stop this maddening Dawg dominance over the Tigers. Vegas opened Georgia a –24 point favorite and that line as of Friday morning has dropped to –22. Can Auburn keep this one close to the 4th quarter and steal a win away from a team that has been their biggest nemesis over the last 20 years? To do so Auburn must first sustain drives, then run the ball, not turn the ball over and convert field goal opportunities into touchdowns. Defensively, Auburn must force Georgia to run the ball more. That goes against everything the above stats suggest but coming into this game UGA is dead last in the SEC with only 517 total rushing yards this season. Auburn’s young secondary will be vulnerable to QB Carson Beck who sits 4th in the league in passing. The good news is Brock Bowers has finally graduated to the NFL leaving Beck without his safety valve. Auburn keeps this one close until late in the 4th quarter, then the scary movie part 20 shows itself again with the Tigers falling apart. So close, yet so far away again.
Georgia 29, Auburn 11.