If two blue blood programs play each other 129 times, there are going to be plenty of stars and legends to look back to. For the Georgia Bulldogs, that list is pretty lengthy against the Auburn Tigers. Though there are several names missing from this list that deserve credit, there are five players who were the most dominant in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry for the Bulldogs.
5. Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford is one of the many players in program history that can say he went undefeated against Auburn. Stafford finished his career at Georgia with 671 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception against the Tigers. Stafford also started in one of the most electric games in Georgia history when the Bulldogs debuted their black jerseys and beat the Tigers in Athens by a final score of 45-20. Going undefeated against Auburn and playing as hot as Stafford did put him comfortably at No. 5 on this list.
4. Brock Bowers
Arguably the greatest tight end in college football history, Brock Bowers was a lock to make this list. Though he only had one career touchdown versus Auburn, he finished his career against the Tigers with 196 receiving yards and a game-winning touchdown in 2023. In that game in 2023, Bowers had 157 receiving yards as well as his touchdown with less than three minutes to go to win the game. Bowers was always dominate, and his ability to carry Georgia to victory landed him at No. 4.
3. Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson sneaks just above Bowers for the number three spot on this list. Johnson, like Bowers, had a game-winning touchdown versus Auburn as well. However, the implications were much higher for Georgia in 2002 versus Auburn.
Johnson caught the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-15 with 1:25 left in the game. That win versus Auburn secured Georgia's SEC East championship which eventually led to an SEC Championship. The next season, Johnson not only caught a 19-yard touchdown pass, but threw his first pass of his career on a 40-yard completion to Fred Gibson on a trick play. Though he was not the greatest in Georgia history, Johnson always showed up when it came time to play Auburn.
2. Roquan Smith
It would be a disservice not to put the MVP of the one and only time Georgia faced Auburn in the SEC Championship on this list. In 2017, Auburn faced off against Georgia in a game that would end in a 28-7 victory for the Dawgs. Roquan Smith came away with the MVP of the game with 13 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Other than the game in the SEC Championship, Smith also led the game in tackles in the regular season in 2017 and 2016. The 2017 Butkus Award winner was a game wrecker any time the Bulldogs faced Auburn, putting him at No. 2 on this list.
1. Herschel Walker
Number one should be of no shock to anyone. Herschel Walker is regarded by many as the best player in the history of college football. However, not many talk about just how dominate he was against Auburn.
In just three seasons, he rushed for over 400 yards against the Tigers. Walker also went a perfect 3-0 versus Auburn.
It truly doesn’t get more dominant than that.