The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry will be in full force once again this week. No. 10 Georgia will take on unranked Auburn at Jordan-Hare in primetime on Saturday night. Kickoff from Auburn will be at 7:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. CT. While Georgia has had its way with Auburn for two decades now, the Dawgs are only laying 3.5 points on the road to a desperate Auburn team. Should Georgia fans be worried here?
Given the nature of this rivalry series, if this game where to be played in Athens, then Auburn would have no chance. The Tigers have not won at Sanford Stadium in two decades. With this game being at Jordan-Hare, the Tigers will occasionally get the best of the Bulldogs. Their last handful of victories over the Dawgs have all come at the college football house of worship, oftentimes during a late kick.
Let's now unpack the nature of if playing Auburn at night at Jordan-Hare is good or bad for Georgia.
Why Georgia fans should be excited about a night game at Jordan-Hare
Admittedly, there is not a lot that plays into Georgia's favor here. However, there are a few obvious ones. It will afford more time for the players to get healthy. It will also give the team more time to get fully focused on the task at hand. While the same principles apply to Auburn as well here, there is one thing playing this game at night may do for Georgia more so than it would playing earlier in the day...
Yes, much of the SEC and college football world will be watching this game. Thus, everything will be magnified. That being said, the biggest advantage to playing this game at night is Georgia potentially beating Auburn under the bright lights may make this potential pelt on the wall look a lot better. Winning on the road is hard, especially at night when taking on a hated rival team who is desperate.
For the time being, beating Auburn for the ninth game in a row would be seen as a quality win of sorts.
Why Georgia fans might be worried about playing Auburn at night
There are tons of reasons to be worried about this game from a Georgia fan's perspective. Night games are always more intensified. While Georgia has been great at home for years on end, they will lose games like this on the road at night. Ever since 2005, the only times Auburn has beaten Georgia during their annual affair have been at Jordan-Hare Stadium. This is such a hard stadium to play in.
Although a loss of any magnitude to Auburn may not eliminate Georgia from the College Football Playoff picture entirely, it would put the Dawgs' chances on life support. They would need to win out to make the playoff at 10-2 as probably an at-large team out of the SEC. The other huge factor playing into Auburn's great desperation is the Tigers cannot start 0-3 in SEC play under Hugh Freeze.
Conversely, another win by Georgia in this rivalry series might result in Freeze getting his pink slip.
What is bound to happen in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry this time?
So how is this game going to play out? It is going to come down to ball control and who executes better on third down. Georgia appears to have the upper hand at quarterback in Gunner Stockton over Jackson Arnold. However, Georgia really needs to get after the passer for once. Arnold loves to go down in the backfield, but the Georgia pass rush has sadly become the Atlanta Falcons' pass rush.
In the end, as long as Georgia does not turn the ball over and decides to not get beaten over the top in the passing game, the Dawgs should win this game quite easily. It will come down to Kirby Smart and his assistants coaching their tails off. Georgia can afford one more loss on the year, while Auburn cannot. Simply put, Georgia's second loss of the season cannot come on the road to Auburn here.
For now, look for Georgia to do what it learned how to do vs. Kentucky at home to both win and cover.