Georgia football has another tough matchup on Saturday against the Auburn Tigers as the Dawgs look to stay perfect on the season.
The Bulldogs have dominated every opponent they have taken on this season, but the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is never what anyone expects.
Georgia must be ready to play in one of the most challenging environments in the SEC, as Jordan-Hare Stadium isn’t for the faint of heart. That crowd will be loud and ready to help be the 12th man for Auburn.
Many people continue to doubt the Dawgs and expect them to fall as they have in the past. This team isn’t like the ones before them because they are on a mission to achieve it all and do something that hasn’t happened in 41 years. Georgia wants to be successful so bad, and the way they play shows it.
Georgia is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The last time Georgia rode this high into Auburn, they got smacked in the mouth. However, this year won’t have the same results.
This team is too strong at every level, even with some of the best players out with injuries. They’re focused on the bigger picture, but at the same time, Georgia takes each game like they are mini national titles, which so far has helped them stay perfect.
Here are six quick, bold predictions on the 125th edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and why the Dawgs will earn their sixth straight win and in a big way.
6: Stetson Bennett throws for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns
This prediction may not be bold because we saw him light up UAB, but this Auburn team is better than the Blazers. Last week Stetson Bennett only threw for 72 yards, but that is all the Dawgs needed from him. No need to force more throws when you’re able to run the ball the way they did.
However, Auburn seems to think if they can load the box and stop the run, Georgia will fall apart. The Tigers must have only watched the Arkansas film because the Dawgs have passed better this year than they have run.
Georgia will need Bennett to be a sharpshooter against the Tigers’ secondary and avoid any costly mistakes. If JT Daniels can go, then Georgia’s pass attack will be just fine, but with Bennett, he can get wild, so Georgia needs him to be spot on this week.
Last year, Bennett went 17-of-28 for 240 yards and one score against the Tigers, and this year those numbers should look the same if not better.
So many Georgia fans don’t trust him, but he earned this spot and should be trusted. Bennett will prove he can handle the duties of starting quarterback with Daniels out just like he did last year against Auburn.
He wants to win so bad for Georgia and help the team do whatever it takes to make that happen. Whether it’s as an explosive thrower or a game manager — Bennett will make it happen and do it in a big way this week.
5: Georgia football runs for 200-plus yards
The Dawgs were a force on the ground after adding up 273 rushing yards and averaging 4.9 yards a carry against Arkansas. Georgia’s interior line did a tremendous job and gained some much-needed confidence.
That group gets better every week, and with a test like this one of the line, it’s time they allow the running backs to make a statement.
While Auburn is the No. 2 rush defense in the SEC, averaging 87.20 yards a game, the Dawgs must find a way to run the ball against the Tigers.
The best team Auburn played was Penn State, but the Nitty Lions are no Georgia. Auburn gave up 267 rushing yards to Georgia State, but the other times they’ve forced teams to throw the ball to be successful.
With Zamir White, James Cook, Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh, one of these guys is due for a blowout game. White ran with a vengeance last week against the Hogs like he wanted to prove something.
Cook looked faster than Sony Michel and more agile. This group respects the RBU players before them, but these four are exceptional and will work as a unit to expose Auburn’s front seven.
Georgia will utilize its four running backs against the Tigers to run the ball for 200-plus yards and let them know that RBU isn’t afraid of them.
4: Dawgs shut down Auburn offense, limiting them to under 200 total offensive yards
Georgia’s defense is something no one can unsee after playing against them. While there have been impressive defensive units in college football history, this group may end up topping them all.
In the SEC, the Dawgs rank No. 1 in the four main defensive categories.
Auburn hasn’t seen a defensive front like Georgia has, and usually, that is the case for the Tigers, but it isn’t even close to being on the same level as Georgia.
After watching the LSU game, neither team wanted to win that game, but Bo Nix wanted it enough for Auburn to get the victory.
While it is impressive to see him make plays on the run as he did, it isn’t an ideal situation. No team wants their quarterback running around unless he has to.
If LSU could tackle, they would have won that game, but they didn’t. Georgia can, though, and that’s why this game will get ugly fast.
Nix went 23-of-44 for 255 yards and one touchdown. He completed 52% of his passes against a secondary that didn’t care.
Georgia has this one circled so that the Dawgs won’t give up more than 200 total yards against the Tigers.
Once again, the Dawgs will demoralize a team and make them quit.
3: Adam Anderson leads the Dawgs in tackles for loss
It’s time for Adam Anderson to have his break-out game for the Dawgs. He is No. 4 on the team in total tackles at 17 this year, but where he has gotten it done is behind the line of scrimmage.
Anderson is the leader in sacks at four and tackles for loss at 4.5 so far this season. He also has 10 quarterback hurries, and one pass break up through five games.
However, against the Tigers, it will be the game in his career that puts him in the Dawg history books.
This entire defense could do something that has never been done before against Auburn or in school history.
Anderson will have at least three tackles for loss against Auburn and one to three sacks. He will lead the team in this category. Each week it seems like someone else shows what they have against an offense, and for this week against Auburn, Anderson will be the man who steps up and makes sure Bo Nix remembers his name.
He has patiently waited for his time to be a starter, be a force, and he is finally getting it this season. Anderson wants to ruin Auburn’s day, and he will be leading Dawg this week.
2: Georgia football’s defense will earn 10 sacks
Even with Anderson leading the way, he could share the lead with the likes of Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall, Nolan Smith and Jordan Davis. This defense doesn’t have one star. Nope, it has a complete defense loaded with guys who can cause havoc and hurt teams’ feelings.
To see each of them succeeding at this level tells me that Georgia wants to prove a point against Auburn.
They tied the sack record against Clemson with seven, but they don’t just break it this week —they will demolish it.
The way Auburn’s offensive line played against LSU should make this defense foam at the mouth. They should be ready to go to war and make Nix just flat-out quit.
Georgia fans will never forget how Nick Farley gave Aaron Murray a bloody chin, so it’s time for these young bucks to give the Tigers a piece of their own medicine.
Dawgs get double-digit sacks and tackles for losses this week. I would also account for a few turnovers as well. No one has really challenged Kelee Ringo and Lewis Cine recently, but they will with Auburn. These two will have to make sure they shut down Auburn’s wideouts so the big men up front can do some damage.
1: Dawgs earn third straight SEC shutout
The boldest prediction of them all has to be Georgia shutting out their third straight SEC opponent.
For the first time since 1980, Georgia shut out back-to-back opponents, but I don’t see Auburn scoring with how this defense is playing regardless of whether it’s first, second or third string out there. Georgia needs to come out swinging against the Tigers — punch them in the mouth and make them remember the day they faced this defense. Teams don’t realize how dominant Georgia’s defense is until they physically play them, and when they do, it usually shocks them.
The Dawgs don’t want teams in their endzone. Nolan Smith let the world know that, and we saw what they did to an Arkansas team who laughed at it.
Georgia has made it a point to keep teams out of their endzone, and so far, it’s worked as the Dawgs have given up one passing touchdown through five games.
With this game being a rivalry, Georgia will have even more reason to keep them out of their endzone. It’s an away game in one of the toughest atmospheres in the SEC. If the Dawgs can shut them out at home, that’ll be quite the statement.
Georgia and Auburn kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS Saturday afternoon, as the Dawgs look to prove to yet another team why they are one of the best in the country.