Auburn gets a rest advantage this week that Kirby Smart’s teams rarely do
ATHENS — Playing on the road at Auburn is already enough of a challenge. It’s one of the more intimidating venues in the SEC.
Georgia needed a Herculean effort from Brock Bowers the last time it went down to Auburn back in 2023.
“If you’re asking me do I wish I had Brock Bowers still? Yeah. I mean, it’d be great, right?” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “Could be a generational player for all I know.”
Georgia won’t have the benefits of bringing out Brock Bowers on Saturday. Another advantage for Auburn.
But perhaps the biggest edge Auburn possesses over Georgia going into Saturday comes on the rest front. The Tigers were off last week, while Georgia played a physical Kentucky team.
Georgia saw starting left tackle Monroe Freeling exit the game with an ankle injury in the first quarter. Defensive tackle Jordan Hall left in the second quarter. At this point, it sounds like Freeling’s status for Saturday’s game is very much in question.
While Georgia was slugging it out with Kentucky, Auburn was able to focus on itself before putting in some early prep work on Georgia.
“We definitely self-scouted everything, to see where we’re heavy tendency-wise on things,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “We had plenty of time, so it was both. We got a jump-start on Georgia, also.”
Operating at a rest disadvantage isn’t exactly uncharted territory for Smart and the Bulldogs. In Georgia’s 2019 season, three opponents had off weeks before facing Georgia, while the Bulldogs had a game. One of those was Auburn. The Bulldogs narrowly pulled out a 21-14 road win, leading to one of the more profane celebrations from Smart in the postgame news conference.
Georgia’s two off weeks that season came before games against Florida and Tennessee, who were also off at the same time.
Because of Georgia’s rivalry with Florida, the Bulldogs rarely have operated with any sort of rest advantage when it comes to their schedule. In the last two seasons, when the Bulldogs have had two off-weeks, their opponents coming out of the bye were also were off.
“You can’t look at that and try to make any excuse for it,” Smart said. “So it is what it is. We’ve gotta go play well.”
Smart is now in his 10th season at Georgia. Only twice in his tenure has Georgia gotten to operate with a rest advantage that Auburn will enjoy this week. Both came during the 2020 season, when games were shuffled around at the last minute because of COVID-19.
“I don’t know (of) anything I can do to mitigate that because this is going to be a physical game,” Smart said. “You have to practice football to get good at football. They’ll practice this week, just like we’ll practice this week.”
This won’t be the only time in 2025 that Georgia operates at a rest disadvantage. The Texas Longhorns have an off week before they travel to Athens on Nov. 15. That game at least comes at home for Georgia.
Alabama though had no problem coming off a bye and beating the Bulldogs in Sanford Stadium, as the Crimson Tide snapped Georgia’s home win streak Sept. 27.
Smart didn’t bemoan Auburn’s scheduling benefit when speaking to reporters on Monday. Before the off-week, Auburn had to play back-to-back true road games, something Georgia does not have to do this season.
Playing at Auburn is always a difficult test. Only the 2021 Georgia team, Smart’s first national championship team, went into Auburn and won by more than a touchdown.
Add in the night atmosphere — Auburn will be retiring Cam Newton’s jersey Saturday — and rest rewards for Auburn, and Georgia knows it will have to play its best game to pull out a win.
“It’s a pretty crazy environment,” cornerback Daylen Everette said. “Their fans get loud. So, just probably going to be the same this week. It might be a little more, just saying it’s a night game. So, just got to be ready for that.”
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
