Back home in Athens, Georgia has looked like a different team. The Bulldogs beat Western Kentucky 70-20, Oklahoma 41-13 and Vanderbilt 38-14 at Sanford, then had to grind out a 3-point game in Tuscaloosa. Auburn is the reverse. 4 of its 5 games have been at Jordan-Hare, and its only road trip so far ended with Tennessee running all over it in the second half.
Auburn's defense is why this might stay interesting for a while. In the first half at Tennessee it forced 2 turnovers, held the Vols to 125 total yards and got starting quarterback Faizon Brandon benched midway through the second quarter. Da'Shawn Womack had 2 early sacks and Xavier Atkins finished with 11 tackles and an interception. Then the second half happened: DeSean Bishop ran for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns at 6.5 a carry. If that run defense can't hold up for 60 minutes in Knoxville, Athens is a tough place to figure it out.
Both teams are down a running back. Auburn's N. Davenport and Georgia's D. Dowdell are both out with no timetable. Auburn is also without receiver E. Smith, which puts more on Brown's remaining targets. The Georgia questions are at receiver: T. Blackshear (upper body) and I. Canion (leg) were both questionable heading into the Alabama game, and their status for this week is still open.
The bigger picture is grim for Auburn. At 3-2 with Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Samford and Alabama left, the Tigers need 3 more wins for their first bowl trip since 2023, and this is the hardest game on that list. Georgia, meanwhile, is unbeaten and has already gotten through its toughest road trip. Early forecasts call for clear skies in the mid-60s with wind around 15 mph, and the question is whether Auburn's offense can stop handing the ball over long enough to make the Bulldogs earn it.