Georgia Is Gonna Take Anger Out On Auburn

Auburn vs. Georgia, 3:30 ET

Auburn vs. Georgia, 3:30 ET

Last week was one of the most entertaining and strange football games I’ve ever watched. Alabama fans were going nuts in the first half of the game and looking like they were going to coast to victory. The Crimson Tide ended up taking their foot off the gas, and ultimately let their opponent come back into the game leading to Alabama losing, then coming back to win within moments of each other. It was wild. So how does a team like Georgia respond and rebound from that? This afternoon Auburn has to stand in the way of a very angry Georgia team. 

Auburn comes into the game with a 2-3 record, looking to see if they can pull off an upset. They started the season with a smackdown of Alabama A&M, winning the game 73-3, but this was closer to a tuneup game than it was to anything else. The next week reality set in, and they faced Cal, losing 21-14. This was even worse because Auburn was at home in the game and should’ve won it. Auburn grabbed an early lead, but their next two possessions resulted in turnovers, the first on downs then an interception. They missed a field goal, and then had three more interceptions and a fumble given to their opponent. It was an ugly game from Auburn and one they certainly should’ve won if they weren’t so sloppy. They rebounded against the University of New Mexico, and it looked like everything would be fine. Then they lost to Arkansas and Oklahoma last week. While both of those games were at least relatively close they ultimately resulted in the same thing, something in the loss column. Quarterback Payton Thorne has now thrown six interceptions, all in his last three games played (he did not play against New Mexico). I am not overly impressed with him under center, but I’m not sure that Hank Brown is a much better option. He also has six touchdowns but tossed three interceptions against Arkansas. No matter who plays quarterback for Auburn, they need to play a perfect game, and even then they still will struggle to score on the Georgia defense. 

Auburn QB Payton Thorne is getting crushed for advice he gave Hank Brown, but the quote is being taken out of context. Watch a video of his comment. (Credit: Getty Images)

Georgia may have lost against Alabama, but you need to give them some credit for how they ultimately played in the game. Sure, they gave up a game-winning touchdown, but it was to arguably the best wide receiver in the country right now. Still, the team was down 28-0 in the second quarter and they were down 30-7 at halftime. They were able to outscore Alabama 27-11 in the second half. Did Alabama just start playing conservative, or was it a combination of things? There isn’t a true way to tell, but the Bulldogs did comeback and took the lead before allowing the touchdown. Perhaps it was too much celebrating from both sides that ultimately caused a loss and allowed Georgia to get back in the game. The Bulldogs defense will look to rebound in this one. In the first four games of the season, they allowed a total of 18 points, and then allowed 41 last week. I can’t imagine they let an Auburn offense that has looked bad in multiple games to score often in this game. Carson Beck will be able to pick apart the Auburn defense, especially if he gets extra possessions. 

This is not only a get-right game, this is a statement game. Georgia is going to be a very angry squad in this one and will take most of it out on defense. Offensively, the only question I have is if the Bulldogs are going to score too quickly and give the ball back to Auburn too many times. Ultimately, I don’t care how many times Auburn gets the ball, I’m going to take the Auburn team total under 13.5 in this one. I’d be very surprised if Georgia doesn’t cover the big number as well.

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