Three storylines
Championship implications. The Bulldogs need to defeat Auburn and have the Gamecocks lose to Florida to secure the SEC East title. If both win or both lose Saturday, it will come down to beating Kentucky in Athens next weekend. If Georgia loses Saturday and the Gamecocks win, South Carolina will represent the East in the SEC championship game Dec. 3.
All hands on deck. Georgia appears to have its full complement of players for the game. Starting tailback Isaiah Crowell and backups Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome are back from a one-game suspension for team rules violations, which should return some punch to the running game. Freshman wideout Malcolm Mitchell, who leads the team with 438 yards receiving, returns to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury. The Bulldogs' defense, ranked in the top 10 nationally, is intact.
Delayed payback. Georgia players have downplayed the affect that the events of last year's game would have on this one. But it's clear from their comments they remember well unsportsmanlike plays by nose guard Nick Fairley, the stiff arm of Cam Newton on Bacarri Rambo and the ejections of Auburn players Mike Blanc and Michael Goggans for throwing punches.
A Georgia win would ...
- Get the Bulldogs one step closer to a berth in the SEC championship game
- Be its eighth in a row, the longest in-season streak since it won that many to start the 2002 season
An Auburn win would ...
- Be its 18th in 28 games at Sanford Stadium.
- Be its second SEC road victory this season. The other was at South Carolina.
Keep an eye on ...
For Georgia: Chris Conley. The freshman has come through big time for the Bulldogs. With Mitchell (hamstring) and Rantavious Wooten (concussion) sidelined with injuries, Georgia coaches decided to remove his redshirt and play him. In the three games since, Conley has hauled in 10 passes for 189 yards, including a team-best five catches for 126 yards and a 47-yard touchdown against New Mexico State on Saturday.
For Auburn: Michael Dyer. A sophomore tailback, Dyer needs 11 yards to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the second consecutive season. Dyer (5-9, 210) has nine games of 100 or more yards in his career.
The numbers game
13 Jersey number worn by Hall of Fame-bound safety Jake Scott while at Georgia, who will be honored Saturday
38 Points by which Georgia has outscored Auburn over 114 games, 1,809-1,771
The history book
Series record: Auburn leads 54-52-8
The last time: On Nov. 13, 2010, in Auburn, Ala., the Tigers fell behind 21-7 before roaring back to score 42 of the games last 52 points en route to a 49-31 victory. Newton, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner, ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two more to tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen.
The bottom line
Georgia will need to control the SEC’s second-best rushing offense (191 yards per game) and continue to win the turnover battle, which it has done by a plus-8 margin to this point in the season. Auburn will attempt to play a spoiler’s role as it is out of the race in the SEC West.
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