Georgia looks to continue dominance in Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry

Second-ranked Georgia will look to continue its dominance against Auburn on Saturday, as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has become a one-sided affair with the Bulldogs having knocked off the Tigers a school-record five straight times.

In what was for decades a back-and-forth annual affair, the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is now tilted heavily in Georgia’s favor, with the Bulldogs having won 14 of the teams’ past 17 meetings to push their series lead to 62-56-8. Auburn and Georgia have met 126 times, including annually since 1944 and every season since 1892 except for 1893, 1897, 1917, 1918 and 1943.

Georgia has outscored Auburn 61-16 in two starts under quarterback Stetson Bennett after Jake Fromm won his final three starts against Auburn, beginning with a 28-7 win in the 2017 SEC title game, by a collective score of 76-31.

But the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and Tigers (3-2, 1-1) will meet in Athens on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. after starting the season in distinctly different fashions.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to pull out a 26-22 win at Missouri on Saturday night, while Auburn squandered a 17-0 second-quarter lead in a 21-17 loss to visiting LSU.

Auburn committed four turnovers, including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and an interception on LSU’s 9-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Auburn has held double-digit leads in each of its past five SEC losses over the past two seasons.

While Georgia is settled at quarterback with Bennett, who has completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 1,536 yards with five touchdowns and an interception, Auburn’s Robby Ashford recently seized the starting job after opening the season as the backup to T.J. Finley.

Bennett has spread the ball around, as nine Bulldogs have caught at least six passes, led by tight end Brock Bowers (20 receptions 342 yards, 2 TDs), receiver Ladd McConkey (20 catches, 266 yards, TD) and running back Kenny McIntosh (22 receptions, 237 yards). Bennett also has four rushing touchdowns.

“(Bennett) is a winner, he makes plays, he’s plenty fast enough to run the ball, he’s plenty fast enough to scramble around and make plays,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “He finds the open receivers, he’s accurate, and he manages their offense really well. I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses in his game. I think he has command of what they are doing, and he’s plenty good enough to hurt you in all the ways.”

But Georgia hasn’t faced a defense as good as Auburn’s. The Tigers held Missouri to 14 points a week before Missouri scored 22 on Georgia. Auburn held LSU to 14 points, as seven of their points came on a fumble it returned for a touchdown. In a 41-12 loss to Penn State, Auburn turned the ball over four times, which the Nittany Lions converted into 10 points.

“They’re fast, physical, playing really hard,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They’re flying around. I mean, I know almost every single player on that defense and they’re good football players.”

Robby Ashford, who has completed 54.1 percent of his passes for 709 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, is also a threat running the ball. Ashford, who Georgia recruited heavily before he chose Oregon prior to transferring to Auburn before the season, has 50 carries for 223 yards and a score.

“His best plays sometimes are plays that end up being broken plays,” Smart said of Ashford, who will make his third career start on Saturday. “The guy can take off and really hurt you, beat with you his arm, especially on scrambles.”

Georgia and Auburn will each want to run the ball on Saturday. But the Bulldogs have been much more effective, amassing averaging 5.3 yards per carry for 893 yards on 169 attempts, while Auburn has 191 carries for 797 yards, an average of 4.2 per attempt.

The Bulldogs feature Kendall Milton (44 carries, 271 yards, 4 TDs) and Daijun Edwards (37 carries. 202 yards, TD), while Auburn has a formidable duo in Tank Bigsby (69 carries, 326 yards, 4 TDs) and Jarquez Hunter (34 carries, 139 yards, 4 TDs).

“(Bigsby’s) explosive,” Smart said. “He is a great guy out of the backfield to catch the ball. He catches screens well. He is vertical on his run game. He is tough.”

The Bulldogs likely will be without defensive tackle Jalen Carter for 1-2 weeks with a knee injury. Carter, who ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft by ESPN, injured the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when he took a shot to that area against Missouri.

Bear Alexander, the No. 50 overall player in the 2022 signing class, is expected to take Carter’s spot.

“When he knows what he’s doing he can be as disruptive as Jalen sometimes,” Georgia defensive lineman Zion Logue said. “When he finds out and learns the defense a little bit more he’s going to be really good.”

Auburn edge rusher Eku Leota, who is second on the team with tackles for loss (5) and sacks (2) is out for the season after tearing his pectoral muscle against LSU, Harsin said on Monday.

“Eku is a big loss,” Harsin said. “He’s an emotional leader and one of the top guys on this team.”