ATHENS – Kirby Smart was asked this week if he agreed with the assessment of Auburn coach Gus Malzahn that Georgia is the most talented team in the SEC.
Smart took umbrage.
“I think if you ask somebody the week of the game, the team they’re playing will have the most talent in the league,” Smart said. “And then the next week, that team will have the most talent, then the next week, that team will have the most talent. That’s called coachspeak. So, thanks, Gus. He has the most talent in the league.”
If you sense a bit of tension behind those remarks, it was there. Georgia and Auburn are preparing to renew their rivalry Saturday and, as it often is, it’s a big deal this year. It’s a top-10 matchup as the No. 4 Bulldogs play host to No. 7 Auburn in the home opener of Sanford Stadium. ESPN’s “College GameDay” is in town for the prime-time TV event (7:30 p.m.)
Here are five things to be aware of as these teams set to battle for the 125th time since 1892:
It’s an Octoberfest
Traditionally played in November as Georgia’s last SEC game, the teams already were set to move to an October date before the pandemic altered the schedule. As it is, it will be the first non-November setting for this contest since 1936, when Georgia and Auburn played in Columbus on Oct. 24.
Adding to the intrigue is that it’s the Bulldogs' first home-game experience with a social-distancing requirement. Built to accommodate almost 93,000 spectators, Sanford Stadium will instead seat about 21,000 fans for this game in sets of four spread throughout all sections. That no doubt will mitigate what’s usually a significant home-field crowd advantage for Georgia.
Home teams are winning only 59.5% of their games (47-32) this season, according to CBS Sports. If that number holds, it would mark the worst winning percentage by home teams since 2005 (59.3%).
Dogs dominate
Auburn and Malzahn are wanting to beat Georgia in the worst way. It’s not just about this season. The Bulldogs have dominated this series of late, winning eight of the past 10. The Tigers haven’t won in Athens since 2005.
A lot of those losses have been significant, too. Auburn’s last win came in 2017 on The Plains, when the No. 10 Tigers upset No. 2 Georgia 40-17. But the Bulldogs avenged that loss two weeks later in the SEC Championship game, 28-7. Last year, Georgia beat the No. 12-ranked Tigers 21-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Quarterback quandary
All eyes will be on the quarterback position for the Bulldogs as they continue to seek a regular signal-caller. Redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis started last week in Arkansas, but he and the Georgia offense performed poorly, and Mathis was replaced early in the second quarter by fourth-year junior Stetson Bennett.
Bennett played spectacularly to rally UGA to a 37-10 victory, but it wasn’t enough to earn the nod to start this week. Sophomore JT Daniels, a transfer from Southern Cal recovering from a knee injury, was activated this week and also will compete for playing time. Smart said the rotation for Saturday’s game will be determined by how the three quarterbacks perform in practice this week.
Hard to tell exactly how that went. Reports are that Mathis actually got a lot of first-team reps early in the week, then Bennett got the majority later. Daniels, by appearances at least, does not appear ready to factor in. He was getting the leftovers. But he remains the most experienced of all of Georgia’s options, with more than 700 career snaps.
“Glad he’s cleared; he’s able to play now,” Smart said of Daniels. “We’re excited to see what he does.”
The same could be said for all three quarterbacks. Expect at least two to play.
Bo knows Georgia
Georgia’s lack of clarity at the position gives Auburn a decided edge at quarterback. Sophomore Bo Nix is back after being named SEC Freshman of the Year while starting all of last season, and he has continued to improve.
Nix threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns last week and also had 34 yards rushing as the Tigers used a late rally to dispatch Kentucky 29-13. He’s under the direction this year of new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who was fired as Arkansas' head coach after last season.
Nix struggled for three quarters against Georgia last year, but then led the Tigers on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to get within one score. Nix’s 2-yard run with 7:03 to play was the first rushing touchdown the Bulldogs gave up all last season. Georgia’s Travon Walker sacked Nix on Auburn’s final drive to preserve the 21-14 victory.
The Tigers have one of the SEC’s best corps of receivers, led by Seth Williams, who had 112 yards and two touchdowns last week, and world-class sprinter Anthony Schwartz. Their matchup against Georgia’s vaunted secondary will be a matchup to watch.
“I think we understand how we can move the ball (on Georgia),” Nix said this week. “Obviously, coach Malzahn has seen a lot, has played them a lot in the past few years, and coach Morris has seen kind of everything in his run. I think we’ll be prepared.”
In the trenches
This game will be decided where most are – in the trenches.
Georgia would appear to have an edge on defense as the Bulldogs are loaded up front this season and Auburn is having to break in four new starters on the offensive line. In particular, the Bulldogs seem ready to have the advantage up the middle, where 330-pound nose guard Jordan Davis is in the best shape of his career and playing accordingly.
But UGA is in an almost total rebuild of its own on the offensive line. Center Trey Hill is the only returning starter on Georgia’s offensive line, and he actually did not stay there the whole game against Arkansas. Hill moved out guard for a time while sophomore Warren Ericson took over at center, and the Bulldogs played well during that span. Georgia also has been juggling the lineup at right tackle, as well, and Jamaree Salyer is a new at left tackle. So the offensive line is unsettled.
Whichever team is able to establish an edge on the line of scrimmage likely will win the day.
