Georgia football's highly anticipated matchup against Auburn is finally here. The Bulldogs are hitting the road for the second time this season to take on the Tigers at 7:30 pm EST in a game that has so much meaning for both teams.
Georgia is favored to win this game by 3.5 points, and on paper the Bulldogs are the better team. But there are a lot of reasons why the odds are stacked in Auburn's favor, with these four off the field reasons leading the way.
1. Auburn is desperate
Auburn is one of the most desperate teams in the country entering Saturday's matchup. They sit at just 3-2 this season and are coming off two straight losses. All it takes is one more loss and Auburn's season is officially over.
If Auburn were to run the table the rest of the season they would have a great chance to play for an SEC Championship and make the College Football Playoff. That all goes away with a loss to Georgia though, so Auburn will do whatever it takes to ensure that does not happen.
2. Tigers are coming off a bye week
One clear advantage Auburn has over Georgia is that they are coming off a bye week. This bye week gave Auburn ample time to not only rest up and get healthy, but to devote more time to preparing for Georgia. So while UGA had just one week to prepare for Auburn, the Tigers were sent a gift from the SEC in the form of an extra week of time off.
3. Coaches jobs are on the line
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is on the hot seat. He doesn't have to win the SEC to save his job this season, but he has to have a good year if he wants to be the coach at Auburn next year.
The best way for Freeze to guarantee he will be Auburn's coach next season is by beating one of their biggest rivals in Georgia. So that is reason enough for Freeze and his coaching staff to work harder than they ever have before to prepare for this football game.
4. First big home game of the season
Last but not least is the fact that this is Auburn's first big home game of the season. The Tigers so far have only played two games at home which came against Ball State and South Alabama. So the Tigers and their fans are ready to finally experience a big game in person in their own backyard.
On top of that, Cam Newton will have his jersey retired during Saturday's game as well. This undoubtedly will make the atmosphere in Jordan-Hare Stadium even more intense than it already was going to be.
So even though Georgia is favored to beat Auburn, there are a lot of reasons the Tigers can win this game. That includes a laundry list of reasons on the field, but it also includes these four off the field reasons as well.