Georgia has a big hurdle they must overcome this weekend when they face Auburn that has nothing to do with the game itself. The Bulldogs have a huge game looming at home the follow week against an undefeated Ole Miss team who is No. 4 in the country.
If Georgia is going to win the SEC, they have to get through the Rebels next week. That massive game coming up next could make it possible for Georgia to overlook an unranked Auburn team this week who sits at just 3-2. But the Bulldogs can’t afford to do that.
While teams do fall victim to looking ahead at future opponents every year, Georgia is not a program that has done that. And it’s clear Kirby Smart won’t let his team do that this week either.
"They’ve (Auburn) got a great football team," Smart shared via dawgnation.com. "They’ve played two really, really hard road games in our league against two of the premier teams in our league right now. Playing really good defensively. Got a lot of weapons on offense, got a lot of great skill players, a lot of great players on special teams. Always respect Coach Freeze’s teams. They will strike you and hit you, really physical all across the board... The games they’ve played, they’ve been in basically one-possession games that came down to the wire, on the road, in tough environments. So a lot of respect for them."
Kirby Smart won’t let Georgia fall victim to Auburn’s trap game
Even though Auburn is 3-2, they are a much better team than their record suggests. Their two losses came by one score each on the road against Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Both the Sooners and Aggies are undefeated this season, so those are hardly bad losses by any stretch of the imagination.
Smart understands how good Auburn is, so he knows he can’t let his team overlook them this weekend. If they do then Georgia could fall short against the Tigers and ruin their season before they even get to play Ole Miss.
Thankfully it sounds like Smart is saying all the right things, but hopefully the team is listening so they don’t fall victim to a trap game this weekend.