The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs hit the road for the first time of the 2023 college football season to face the Auburn Tigers in the 128th edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
The game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff and will be televised on CBS.
Georgia leads the rivalry series 63-56-8, but lately it hasn’t been very competitive. UGA has won 15 of the last 18 games against the Tigers and 9 of the last 10. Auburn’s three recent wins over the Bulldogs all came at home.
Georgia is still looking to play a complete game entering the Sept. 30 game against Auburn. The Bulldogs are a 14.5 point favorite over the Tigers, per BetMGM.
Auburn is 3-1 on the season with Power Five win over California. The Tigers lost 27-10 at Texas A&M last week. Georgia enters the game at 4-0 having won its only contest against a Power Five opponent in South Carolina.
Let’s look at the rivalry history between Georgia and Auburn:
2022: Georgia 42, Auburn 10
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The Bulldogs held a 14-0 lead at halftime over the Tigers before having a dominant 31 point second half. Georgia didn’t score in the first quarter and entered halftime with 143 total yards, but rebounded with 357 total yards in the second half. Georgia rushed for 292 yards in the home win over Auburn.
Defensively, the Bulldogs suffocated the Tigers, allowing only 258 total yards in the game. The Georgia defense allowed only 10 first downs, got off the field on third down, and forced a turnover in the win.
2021: Georgia 34, Auburn 10
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Stetson Bennett connected with Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who is likely out for this year’s Auburn game with a back injury, several times in Georgia’s road win at Auburn in 2021. After a quiet first quarter, running back Zamir White helped the Bulldogs build up a 17-3 halftime lead.
Georgia’s defense was dominant in 2021 and sacked Auburn quarterback Bo Nix four times. The Tigers managed just 46 rushing yards on 29 carries.
UGA dominating Auburn recently
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is 7-1 in his career against Auburn including a huge win in the 2017 SEC championship game.
Georgia is 11-2 against Auburn in the series’ last 13 meetings. Auburn’s last win in the series came in 2017. The Tigers have not won in Athens since 2005. Georgia has won six games in a row against Auburn since 2017.
2020: Georgia 27, Auburn 6
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Quarterback Stetson Bennett powered Georgia to an impressive over the Auburn Tigers in 2020. Bo Nix and the Auburn offense struggled to score against Georgia’s talented defense. The Tigers finished with only 216 yards of total offense.
Georgia jumped out to a 24-3 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Bulldogs ran for 217 yards and held Auburn to only 65 rushing yards. Bennett got the better of Nix, who transferred to Oregon, when the two faced off in Week 1 of the 2022 college football season.
2013: Auburn 43, Georgia 38
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Auburn Tigers fans witnessed some magic at Jordan Hare in 2013. Auburn converted a fourth-and-long in stunning fashion via a pass deflection off a Georgia defender.
The Tigers took a 43-38 lead with 25 seconds left, but quarterback Aaron Murray and the Georgia offense drove to the Auburn 20 yard-line before time expired. The Tigers then went on to defeat Alabama, at home, via the infamous Kick-Six and advanced to the national championship game.
Tying the Tigers: a crazy stat
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The Georgia-Auburn series has been played a total of 127 times. Georgia and Auburn has tied eight times with the last of those being in 1994. However, Georgia has never tied Auburn at home. All eight of Georgia’s ties to the Tigers have been on the road or at neutral sites.
Both teams have winning records on the road
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The Georgia-Auburn rivalry historically brings out some spirited performances from the road team. In fact, Georgia is 18-12-2 on the road against the Tigers. The Bulldogs have a losing record at home of 17-18 showing that the home team doesn’t always have an advantage in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Auburn’s last three wins (2010, 2013, and 2017) over Georgia all came at home. It is surprising that both teams have winning records on the road considering how loud Sanford Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium get.
Future of the Georgia-Auburn rivalry
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The Georgia-Auburn rivalry is being played earlier in the season for the foreseeable future. The game used to represent a tough November test for both teams. In fact, excluding the 2017 SEC championship, before the 2020 season Georgia and Auburn had played each other in November every season since 1936.
Auburn no longer has the potential misery of facing Georgia and Alabama in back-to-back weeks. Georgia and Auburn are scheduled to play each other in 2024, but there are no guarantees beyond that. Georgia and Auburn fans would love to keep the rivalry alive. Perhaps the SEC will expand to nine conference games in the future in order to make more money (the top priority of college football) and preserve historic rivalries.
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