No excuses for No. 1 Georgia in ugly loss to unranked Auburn

ATHENS — There were excuses available to No. 1 Georgia for this ugly loss at home to unranked Auburn.

Star safety KJ Bolden didn’t play because of injury. Georgia was coming off an emotional win at Alabama while Auburn was idle. Coach Kirby Smart cited his old standby, the grind of the SEC schedule.

“I know it’s a big deal to everybody else, but to me it’s another game,” Smart said after Auburn’s 27-24 victory. “And we have to turn around and get ready to go play again. It is a war in this league, week in and week out. Everybody can beat everybody.”

The Tigers hadn’t beaten Georgia at Sanford Stadium since 2005. They haven’t finished with a winning record since 2020.

The Tigers were picked to finish 12th in the preseason media poll. They beat the team picked to finish 13th, Vanderbilt, and lost to Florida and Tennessee.

It looked like Auburn would lose in a rout when Georgia scored touchdowns on its first two drives. But the Tigers scored 24 unanswered points to lead by 10 points. After Georgia tied the game with three minutes left, Auburn converted quarterback Gunner Stockton’s lost fumble into the winning field goal as time expired.

Auburn players, coaches and staffers stormed the field as Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal sailed through the uprights.

“I just want to get this program, and I think we all want to get this program, back to where you expect to come in here and win,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “That’s why we came here. That’s why we chose Auburn. That’s why these (players) chose Auburn.”

The Tigers ended an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents that goes back to 2024, when they beat No. 15 Texas A&M at home. Auburn earned its first road win against a ranked team since beating Arkansas in 2021.

The home fans quietly filed out of the stadium after Georgia’s first loss in a long time in the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.” It was a stunning loss for the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC).

“Yes and no,” Georgia senior linebacker Raylen Wilson said. “Because anybody can lose on any given day in the SEC. It is what it is.”

It isn’t what it’s supposed to be like for the Bulldogs. They’d won 53 straight against unranked opponents. They’d beaten Auburn nine times in a row overall, and Georgia’s nine consecutive home wins against Auburn included just two by a margin of less than three scores.

Those streaks are over. The Bulldogs got the result they deserved.

The Tigers (4-2, 2-2) made more plays, like Chas Nimrod’s spectacular, one-handed TD catch against tight coverage. Auburn made fewer mistakes and didn’t turn the ball over once.

“We like to say ‘the Dawgs don’t beat the Dawgs,’ but they beat themselves today,” Smart said. “I give a lot of credit to Auburn. The physicality showed.”

The Tigers consistently pushed back Georgia’s defensive front. They rushed for 209 yards on 41 carries (sack yardage excluded). Auburn got 10 first downs on the run.

I thought Georgia wouldn’t be able to handle Alabama’s dual-threat quarterback, Keelon Russell. It turns out I was a week early.

Auburn’s big quarterback, Byrum Brown, gained a lot of tough yards among 115 on 26 carries.

“He’s a great quarterback,” Wilson said. “Mobile quarterback. He’s just a good player. He was part of how we beat ourselves. He forced us to miss tackles.”

Meanwhile, Stockton had two interceptions in addition to the lost fumble. He’ll take a lot of blame for this loss, but there was plenty to spread around.

The Bulldogs were called for three 15-yard penalties for illegal hits against Brown. A pass interference penalty set up Brown’s 5-yard TD run that put Auburn ahead 24-14 early in the second half. The Tigers blocked a field-goal attempt.

“Like I say, humility is a week away,” Smart said. “Auburn played better than us today. They executed better today. Didn’t turn the ball over. Hit their (red zone) plays. And we had some really, really untimely, uncharacteristic penalties.

“I give them credit, but at the end of the day, everything we want is in front of us.”

Georgia will have plenty of things to work on during the bye week before playing Florida at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Even with all their mistakes, the Bulldogs had a chance to beat Auburn late.

They forced Auburn to punt following Stockton’s game-tying TD pass to London Humphreys with 2:08 to play. A short punt by Auburn set up Georgia at its 44-yard line with 1:12 left.

A pass interference penalty against the Tigers moved Georgia to Auburn’s 46. Stockton tried scrambling on the next play, but he lost the ball in a collision with center Drew Bobo. Auburn recovered the fumble at its 44-yard line.

A 12-yard completion and two five-yard runs by Brown moved Auburn close to field-goal range. A roughing-the-passer penalty against the Bulldogs gave the Tigers the extra yards they needed.

The Tigers won at Sanford Stadium as three-touchdown underdogs. No. 1 Georgia was left with no excuses for that.