Three Underrated Georgia football games against Auburn this century

2016: Georgia 13, No. 9 Auburn 7

2016 marked a new era for Georgia football. For the first time in 15 years, a man not named Mark Richt was roaming the sidelines as head coach of the Bulldogs.

This year, the Dawgs were being led by former Alabama Defensive Coordinator and UGA alum Kirby Smart. Coach Smart was having a pretty up and down first year as head coach of Georgia.

Going into the game, Georgia was unranked and had a 5-4 record. Looking back, they could have easily been 7-2 if it wasn’t for a certain Josh Dobbs Hail Mary pass or a successful 4th down conversion against Vanderbilt that would’ve given rising fan favorite Rodrigo Blankenship a chance to kick the game winning FG, like he did against Kentucky that season.

Regardless, the Dawgs were sniffing an upset on this day in Athens against a top 10 Auburn team that was looking for a spot in a New Year’s Six Bowl. This game would give us UGA fans a glimpse into what was to come for our Dawgs.

The Georgia defense smothered Auburn’s offense on this day. They allowed just 164 yards of total offense (80 of which came on Auburn’s only scoring drive in the first quarter), nine first downs, 37 passing yards, and provided Georgia’s only touchdown, as Alabama grad transfer Maurice Smith had a pick six in the third quarter to tie the game.

Jacob Eason had 208 yards passing on the day, while Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined for 156 rushing yards on 33 carries. Rodrigo Blankenship was 2-for-3 on field goal tries, both coming in the fourth quarter that would turn out to be the difference maker in this game.

Georgia wrapped up that season with an 8-5 record and victory over TCU in the Liberty Bowl. Auburn also finished with an 8-5 record, and ended up receiving an invite to play in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma, which they lost.

Over the years, these two teams have provided us fans with some big time moments and games that we will remember forever. What iconic moment(s) will we see this Saturday in another edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry?