The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry takes place this Saturday as the Auburn Tigers travel to Athens, GA to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.
Although they are in separate divisions of the SEC, the Auburn Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs meet every year and have met every year since 1944. The rivalry is one of the oldest in all of college football and is tightly contested in the series record. With the Bulldogs winning the last three meetings, they lead the all-time head to head 60-56-8. For the 2020 matchup, these two are meeting a little earlier than usual but have just as much on the line, if not more given the current status of college football due to the pandemic.
Both teams opened the season last Saturday and both came away with wins. Georgia took on Arkansas, and despite a slow start that saw them down 7 to 5 at halftime, the Bulldogs defeated the Razorbacks 37 to 10. Georgia offense fell just shy of 400 total yards for the game and led in time of possession but turned the ball over twice and averaged under three yards per rush. And while the offense was a rollercoaster, having its ups and downs, Georgia’s defense came out strong, holding Arkansas to just 280 yards of offense and in addition to their safety, forced three turnovers, including one interception that was returned for a touchdown.
The Tigers also found themselves in a tightly contested first half, leading the Kentucky Wildcats 8-7. But for Auburn, there’s a little more slack given as Kentucky is a much better opponent than Arkansas. But Auburn benefitted from a questionable call that saw a booth review overrule a Kentucky touchdown that darn near everyone could see was a touchdown. Auburn would go on to take control of the game in the second half and win 29-13. The Tigers would force two fumbles in the second half that were huge difference makers.
So what should we expect from these two when they face off for the 125th time? Both teams got off to slow starts but were able to come away with wins. Will Auburn end the Bulldogs’ three-game streak? Or do the Bulldogs make it four in a row and build momentum for the rest of the season?
Here’s how to watch and bet on the Auburn vs. Georgia game.
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
- Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Athens, Georgia
- Stadium: Sanford Stadium
- TV Info: ESPN
- Odds: Georgia -6.5, O/U 44.5
- Live Stream: WatchESPN, Sportsurge
Prediction: This game is basically a coin flip. If this was a traditional home game that would have the near 100,000 fans in attendance at Sanford Stadium, it would be a little bit easier to pick the Bulldogs. Both defenses are stingy and are going to come away with some big-time stops but as usual, one of my biggest determining factors is that of quarterback play.
Because the Bulldogs have two options in Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels, the leash will be short for whoever starts, and in this case, I think that actually favors Georgia. Bo Nix has struggled with consistency in his young college career and I see him doing the same in this one. It’s another instant classic to add to the series record books but Georgia gets the narrow win at home.
Score: Georgia 27, Auburn 24
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