Watch No. 10 Georgia vs Auburn kick off LIVE Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 2. Then stick around after the game for SEC GameDay on 2 postgame show, LIVE from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
GAME PREVIEW
Maybe a visit from Cam Newton will spark Auburn’s woeful offense.
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Newton’s No. 2 jersey will be formally retired when the Tigers host rival and No. 10 Georgia on Saturday night. Auburn should welcome any tips, guidance or motivational speeches the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner provides.
The Tigers rank last in Southeastern Conference play in most offensive categories and will try to get right against the Bulldogs, who have won eight in a row in the series and need a victory to maintain a clear path toward the College Football Playoff.
Auburn (3-2, 0-2 SEC) surely has to score more to have a better chance as a 3 1/2-point underdog, according to BetMGM.
“Hopefully a home environment changes some things, the way we play,” Tigers coach Hugh Freeze said.
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Georgia coach Kirby Smart expects an “intense, crazy environment” at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where the Tigers have won four in a row. But Smart believes the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1) will be ready for anything.
“We create an environment of chaos and noise and try to create some confusion so we have to communicate in that,” said Smart, who is 9-1 against Auburn. “So our guys get to practice in it. We’ll have to go out and execute it.”
Georgia already survived one conference road trip, pulling out a 44-41 victory in overtime at then-No. 15 Tennessee last month. The Dawgs have won three in a row in Auburn.
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These Tigers have struggled to move the ball consistently, although stout defense gave them a chance in consecutive road losses to then-No. 11 Oklahoma and then-No. 9 Texas A&M. Freeze called the results “sickening and disappointing” and said coaches “worked tirelessly” during the open week to fix issues.
“It starts with me and my staff being adequately prepared to not be behind the chains the whole night,” Freeze said. ”You look at the last two games, and we certainly have put ourselves behind the chains way too much with some undisciplined penalties and questionable play calling.”
[RELATED: Hard-running Chauncey Bowens emerges as No. 10 Georgia’s leading rusher entering road test at Auburn]
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are coming off a dominant performance over Kentucky. They won 35-14 in a bounce-back effort following a home loss to Alabama.
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Both defenses will have their hands full with dual-threat quarterbacks. Although neither Georgia’s Gunner Stockton nor Auburn’s Jackson Arnold is quite Newton, who carried Auburn to the national title in his lone season on the Plains, the QBs could be difference-makers.
Stockton has six touchdown passes to go along with five more rushing. Arnold has five of each.
“That boy can move,” Georgia linebacker Justin Williams said of Arnold. “He can fly. He can run for real. We’ve got to be prepared for that. That’s what we’re preparing for.”
[SEC on ABC: Storylines to watch this week]
Auburn hopes to be better up front
Auburn’s offensive line has been a problem, especially against SEC competition.
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Arnold was sacked nine times in his return to Oklahoma, where he played the previous two seasons, and the Tigers have allowed an SEC-leading 21 sacks through five games. Georgia, though, has just seven sacks this season.
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Strength versus strength
Georgia ranks fifth in the SEC with 206.8 yards rushing a game and has found a new starter in redshirt freshman Chauncey Bowens. Auburn ranks sixth in the conference against the run, giving up only 88 yards a game on the ground.
Bowens made his first start last week and ran for 70 yards after leading Georgia with 119 yards and a touchdown against Alabama. Bowens, who has supplanted Nate Frazier, sees Auburn’s defensive front as “really aggressive” against the run.
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“Nothing that I want to take away from them,” Bowens said. “They’re an extremely good team. But I feel like we have a great front seven as well.”
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Athens, Georgia, contributed.
