In an effort to find the silver lining in the dark cloud of Georgia's horrendous loss to Auburn, there's an idea that could become a reality. What if Georgia didn't lose to an ordinary unranked team in Week 7?
Maybe, just maybe, Auburn wasn't as bad as the "unranked" team they were coming into Athens, and by Week 12, a three-point loss to the Tigers will be viewed as a quality loss by the College Football Playoff committee.
At face value, the result of the game was ugly. Georgia was No. 1, having just taken down Alabama on their home field in Tuscaloosa, and Auburn was unranked with two losses already in the early part of the season. The Tigers left Athens with a 27-24 victory, ending Georgia's nine-game winning streak in the rivalry.
Certainly not the way Georgia's season was mapped out, but a broken road can still lead to the same destination. And of course, the immediate reaction was "what went wrong" for the Bulldogs and how Georgia should have easily covered the 20-point spread.
But hear me out. By Week 12, the conversation surrounding this loss could be completely different. Auburn might not lose another game during the regular season. (Waits for laughter to subside)
Auburn's two early losses don't tell the full story
Auburn's first loss, 44-39 to Florida on September 19, didn't look great at the time. Auburn's defense looked confused, and despite scoring 39 points, they still couldn't keep up with the Gators' offense. But we've seen teams come back from early-season losses before. This was an Auburn team with a new head coach and a new starting quarterback facing their first SEC test of the season.
Both Florida and Auburn have seen ups and downs in the early part of the season, but after watching the Gators manhandle Texas in Week 7 and Ole Miss in Week 4, you have to believe they're probably a quality team still trying to adjust.
Auburn's second hiccup of the season, to Tennessee, looks even more like a quality loss. The Vols are starting to look more and more like an SEC contender and have one of the best defenses in the country. Holding Auburn to just 14 points in a win has been par for the course this season. It's entirely possible the Tigers lost to a team that could be playing in the SEC Championship Game in December.
So yes, Auburn has two losses, but those two losses came against legitimate SEC competition, not opponents they were expected to overwhelm. And now, with a win over the No. 1-ranked team in their back pocket, the Tigers will head into the second half of the season with confidence and momentum.
Auburn's win over Georgia may have been a turning point
Here are the facts about Auburn's win over Georgia
- Auburn overcame an early 14-0 deficit against the nation's top-ranked team.
- The Tigers scored 24 unanswered points and held Georgia scoreless in the second and third quarters.
- Quarterback Byrum Brown contributed 115 rushing yards against one of the stingiest run defenses in the country and helped engineer the game-winning drive.
- The Tigers forced three Georgia turnovers, the last one essentially costing the Bulldogs the game.
- Alex McPherson's walk-off field goal completed the upset
When you look at it in the context of the entirety of the game, Auburn suddenly doesn't look like an unranked pushover.
Alex Golesh has been preaching patience and a one-game-at-a-time approach while rebuilding Auburn's identity. He gave an emotional postgame interview and repeated "just stick with us", directing it at Auburn supporters and alumni.
Sometimes a rebuilding team needs one breakthrough victory to start believing that the process is working, and Georgia may have been that breakthrough for Auburn. If that's the case, Auburn could be looking at more than just a mid-tier bowl game in December.
If Auburn can navigate the end of season successfully, that's good for Georgia
Auburn has six games remaining this season, and a couple of weeks ago, those games looked like a 50/50 split for the Tigers at best. Now? Perhaps the Tigers have more in the tank. Nobody should expect Auburn to run the table. But after winning in Athens, there isn't a remaining opponent the Tigers should automatically believe they cannot beat.
Wins over No. 22 LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Samford are absolutely in the cards. If Auburn plays like they did against Georgia in those games, that's four wins. That leaves Ole Miss and Alabama.
The Rebels may be the biggest challenge for Auburn, and playing on the road, it's going to be tough to get a win against that team. From what we've seen from Alabama, the Tigers could come away with a victory in the Iron Bowl even with it being in Tuscaloosa.
So at worst, Auburn will probably be 8-4, possibly 9-3, and if the gods are kind, even 10-2 by the end of the season. That would seriously raise Auburn's coinage in the eyes of the committee. A three-point loss to 9-3 or 10-2 Auburn that has wins over some quality, ranked teams would look much better on Georgia's playoff resumé than losing to an 8-4 or 7-5 team.
The Bulldogs' loss won't disappear, and it shouldn't. But the College Football Playoff conversation considers opponent quality and overall resumé. If Auburn keeps winning, Georgia's defeat could look considerably less damaging by November.
Georgia lost to an unranked Auburn team in Week 7. By the time November rolls around, the Bulldogs might be wishing people would stop calling the Tigers unranked and start recognizing just how good they actually are.
So, yeah... silver lining... athough it comes with assuming Auburn can continue improving.
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