Auburn destroys Georgia, 40-17: 3 takeaways
Recapping the No. 10 Auburn Tigers’ 40-17 win over the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
There will be a new team atop the College Football Playoff rankings next week, as the No. 10 Auburn Tigers earned an impressive 40-17 win over the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday at a lively Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Kirby Smart’s team came out ready to make a statement with an easy opening drive that featured a pair of long Jake Fromm passes, capped off by a short Nick Chubb touchdown run. Kerryon Johnson and the Tigers countered with a pair of long drives of their own, resulting in a pair of Daniel Carlson field goals to make it a 7-6 game at the end of one.
After forcing a 3-and-out, Auburn’s high-tempo offense was on the move once again with a healthy balance of run and pass, but could again only muster a field goal to take a 9-6 lead early in the second. Both ferocious pass rushes then became to dominate, as the teams traded punts for much of the second quarter.
Georgia struggled with penalties throughout the half and extended an Auburn drive with a leaping infraction on a punt with six minutes to go. Auburn took advantage a few plays later on a terrific 42-yard touchdown reception by Darius Slayton to go up 16-7, Georgia’s largest deficit of the season.
More special teams miscues hurt Georgia at the end of the half on a missed Rodrigo Blankenship field goal to keep the Auburn lead at nine heading into the half. Georgia was set up at the Auburn 26 with 27 seconds to go and no timeouts after a long Mecole Hardman Jr. touchdown run but questionably chose to run the ball rather than let Fromm throw to the end zone.
Smart was unable to fix the self-inflicted wounds at the break, as Hardman Jr. muffed a punt after Georgia generated a stop on Auburn’s opening drive. Jarrett Stidham executed a perfect read-option touchdown run moments later, pushing the Auburn lead to 23-7.
The rout was on halfway through the third on Ryan Davis’ 32-yard touchdown run following another penalty-riddled mess of a series for Georgia. Fromm finally hit on a long pass play on the next series, although the Bulldogs settled for a field goal to make it a 30-10 game at the 5:23 mark of the third.
Johnson, who is slowly entering the Heisman race, continued to pound away and reeled off a 55-yard touchdown run to keep the blowout going at 40-10 with six minutes to play. Ryan Ridley added a 14-yard touchdown late, but it was far too late for Georgia in the 40-17 defeat.
Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s result, which will have a major impact on the national title picture.
3 takeaways
Gus Malzahn’s offense went back to its roots
Following disappointing outputs in losses to Clemson and LSU earlier this season, Auburn’s offense put on a terrific performance by getting back to the fundamentals that made Malzahn such an initial success in the first place.
Georgia’s defense, one of the best units in college football entering the weekend by just about any statistical measure, was on its heels all game long thanks to Auburn’s balance and fast-paced tempo. The Tigers found great success when splitting running backs out wide, put in more short throws for Stidham than in previous games, and effectively mixed in some read-option.
Most importantly, the Tigers were aggressive, helping them generate a ton of big plays both through the air and on the ground. Auburn’s loss to LSU was marred by predictable playcalling, especially on first down, so Malzahn turning things loose was a welcome sign.
The performance by Auburn’s defense against Georgia’s run game shouldn’t be overlooked, but Saturday’s game was all about an inconsistent offense executing to perfection.
Kirby Smart wasn’t ready for a big-time game
It’s easy to forget that Smart is in just his second year of head coaching duty in a high-pressure environment, and his team simply wasn’t ready for the biggest game of his tenure.
While things started off well enough with the impressive touchdown drive, the Bulldogs quickly wilted in raucous Jordan-Hare Stadium shortly after. In the first half, Georgia committed six penalties for 70 yards, many of which were mental errors like personal fouls or the crucial leaping infraction that really sent the game spiraling out of control
Georgia’s playcalling also didn’t let Fromm do much despite his strong numbers coming in, as evidenced by the bizarre sequence at the end of the first half. It wasn’t the type of game where Georgia would be able to keep up with the explosive Auburn offense, particularly with all of the errors on special teams.
Smart is already a terrific coach and looks like the type of hire that could build a dynasty, but he’ll have to use Saturday as a learning experience first.
Auburn is very much a national title threat
The Tigers not only control their own playoff destiny but are capable of winning a national championship despite suffering two earlier defeats.
Losing by a combined 12 points at Clemson and LSU is nothing to be ashamed of, and Auburn’s offense performed well below its talent level in both, especially in the second half of the matchup in Baton Rouge. While those defeats certainly can’t be overlooked, Auburn’s offense can challenge anyone if Malzahn sticks by what worked so well in the Georgia game.
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The defense has been stout all year and turned in an incredible effort to hold Chubb and Sony Michel to 20 carries for 48 yards. If the offense executes at this level again, a beat up Alabama team better watch out two weeks from now in the Iron Bowl.