Georgia football vs. Auburn: A rivalry of upsets
The 1980’s and before
You have to go back eight years to the last upset prior to 1994. That came in 1986 and once again, Georgia spoiled Auburn’s great season. The Tigers were ranked no. 9 but had fallen in an upset to Florida a couple of weeks before. Georgia was unranked with a 6-3 record.
Auburn was playing for a share of the SEC Championship but the Bulldogs had other plans. They beat Auburn 20-16 on the road to effectively give the sole SEC Championship to LSU.
The 1970’s
Eight years before that, in 1978, another tie became an upset in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Georgia entered Jordan-Hare Stadium 8-1, undefeated in the SEC and no. 8 in the country. All Georgia had to do was beat Auburn to win the SEC Championship.
Auburn was 6-3 and unranked. Of course that means nothing in a Georgia versus Auburn game. The Tigers battled the Bulldogs to a 22-22 tie. That put Alabama alone at first place in the SEC. And then Auburn didn’t even have the decency to at least tie Alabama so Georgia could claim, at the minimum, a share of the SEC Championship.
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Eight years between major upsets is a theme in this rivalry so clearly 1970 would feature another big upset. This year, Georgia traveled to what was then known as Cliff Hare Stadium with four losses. Auburn, however, only had one. And while an SEC Championship was out of question, the Tigers still could finish 1970 with just one loss.
But that’s not how Georgia versus Auburn works. The Bulldogs left town with a 31-17 victory to ensure that they wouldn’t finish the season below .500.
The 1960’s
1962 might be the biggest upset in terms of how far apart the teams were going into the game. Georgia went into Cliff Hare Stadium with a record of 2-3-3. Auburn though, was 6-1 and still eyeing an SEC Championship. Georgia ruined those plans with a 30-21 win in what may have been the biggest win of Johnny Griffith’s time as head coach.
The 1950’s
Again, another eight years separated big upsets in the series history. This time, in 1954, Georgia, with a 6-1-1 record and ranked no. 20, met a 4-3 Auburn team in Columbus’ Memorial Stadium. Auburn smacked Georgia around for a 35-0 victory.
That blowout win can be seen as revenge for what happened in 1951. Again in Columbus (where Georgia and Auburn met for every game except one from 1916-to-1958), Auburn came to town 5-2, Georgia was 4-4. The Bulldogs took a 46-14 win back with them to Athens.