Something has to give when it comes to Georgia's struggles with its pass rush going up against the scrambling sack of potatoes that is Jackson Arnold at quarterback for Auburn. Let's make one thing perfectly clear. If the Georgia pass rush is unable to bring Arnold to the turf with any regularity, they will not be sacking anyone of note this season. Arnold will scramble, but that might not matter...
In looking at Bill Connelly's glorified Week 7 preview post for ESPN.com, he has The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry listed as The Flamin' Hot Cheetos Nachos of the Week (relatively predictable but could upset your stomach). All of his advanced numbers suggest Georgia will win this rivalry series by at least one score, but there are ways that Auburn could make this thing more interesting than it should.
However, for as much hoopla as this game is getting in the week leading up to it, there is one nugget that Connelly shared that should have Dawg Nation far less concerned about this game coming in. It has something to do with Georgia being dominant against the run, which is something Arnold loves to do when he cannot make his first read. Sacks may not come in bunches, but maybe only short gains?
As long as Georgia does not break contain on Arnold, they will have a strong chance to win this one.
Georgia might be able to beat Auburn anyway without having a pass rush
The big key here is Georgia being strong against the run. Truth be told, so is Auburn, but the Tigers' statistics are a bit misleading. As is the case with another team like the Wisconsin Badgers, they are so bad at defending the pass that the opposition hardly ever needs to run on them. Georgia's pass defense does leave a lot to be desired as well, but it has been timely enough on occasion this season.
Overall, as long as Georgia does not get beat over the top in pass defense and does not let Arnold break contain when he scrambles, the Dawgs should be able to win this game without having all that great of a pass rush. That could prove problematic later on in the season, but this is one of the few conference games where Georgia should be able to dictate terms anyway. They have to win this one.
Ultimately, Georgia is going to have to play locked in on offense more so than anything to avoid allowing Auburn to have a puncher's chance in this one. Again, ESPN's matchup predictor has Georgia expected to win this game 64.5 percent of the time, when compared to Auburn's 35.5 projected winning percentage. Georgia struggles with covering the spread, but it did it last week vs. Kentucky.
As long as Georgia plays great run defense and does not give up the big play aerially, it will be alright.