Georgia football: Observations of the Bulldogs opponents after week seven

Down goes Auburn

For about 27 quarters in the 2017 college football season, Auburn looked like the second best team in the SEC West and possibly the second best team in the entire conference. That narrative changed in the fourth quarter against LSU.

Auburn led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and then a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter. At that point it appeared as though they would keep rolling. But LSU answered with a 90-yard touchdown drive. Then they answered a late field goal by Auburn with another long drive to cut the lead to just 23-14 at halftime.

Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter so Auburn fans had reason to think that their Tigers could escape Baton Rouge with a win. The Bayou Bengals had other plans though. A 75-yard punt return sliced the lead to 23-21 and then LSU kicked a pair of field goals in the final three minutes to win the game 27-23.

Just like that, Auburn’s highly praised defense faltered with the game on the line. Jarrett Stidham, who was proving critics wrong, only completed nine of his 26 passes for 165 yards. Kerryon Johnson looked like he always does, but he didn’t have any help.

And if being eliminated from playoff contention wasn’t enough, Auburn dismissed former four-star and promising wide receiver Kyle Davis on Tuesday.

Now lets see how Auburn responds. The SEC West is still their primary goal and they aren’t eliminated from that yet. They need to win out because you know Alabama will be undefeated going into the Iron Bowl. So the Tigers only goal will be to turn that game into an SEC West Championship Game.

So they will be more driven in the last half of the season which could prove to be an advantage for them when they play Georgia.