Georgia football: Which games could College Gameday or SEC Nation visit

College Gameday or SEC Nation: Georgia vs. Auburn

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has a new spot on the schedule. The Auburn Tigers, fed up with playing Georgia and Alabama so close together, successfully lobbied to move its annual meeting with Georgia football to earlier in the schedule. Georgia now plays Auburn in October and the Tennessee rivalry moves to November.

This year’s edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry takes place on October 10. For the first time in a long time (maybe ever), Georgia vs. Auburn is a monumental early-season SEC game. If the Bulldogs lose to Alabama a few weeks earlier, this becomes a must-win-game. Regardless of What Georgia does to its SEC East rivals, a second loss might prove too much in the SEC East race.

If the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide, this becomes just like any Georgia/Auburn game, all about bragging rights. A loss doesn’t hurt too much in the SEC divisional races because the teams aren’t in the same division. But no one wants to lose a rivalry game, especially one with as much history as Georgia/Auburn. This rivalry is as old as the two programs themselves.

Auburn has a fairly easy schedule before playing Georgia. Its biggest game is against North Carolina in Atlanta on September 12. So, there’s a big possibility Georgia and Auburn will enter the game undefeated and ranked in the top 10.

As far as College Gameday is concerned, this game faces stiff competition. Notre Dame hosts Stanford, the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry is that day as well and LSU plays Florida. The biggest competition for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry might be the Red River Shootout in Dallas (Texas vs. Oklahoma). However, Georgia vs. Auburn might still be the only top 10 matchup of the day.