Georgia football must snap out of early funk vs. Auburn in Week 5

Georgia football looks to establish itself as the SEC East favorite, while Auburn seeks statement victory in Athens in Week 5.

These are the kinds of games that you think about all week leading up to it. Athens will play host to the first top 10 game of the season as Georgia football welcomes the Auburn Tigers in what should be a classic SEC game with two great defenses and two teams loaded with talent.

Georgia is looking to shake off the rust on offense after a poor showing against Arkansas last week. With the news that transfer quarterback J.T. Daniels has been cleared. The Bulldogs are hoping that he can come in and give the offense the spark that it so desperately needs.

What should concern Georgia fans even more than the passing game is the fact that the run game could not get going against Arkansas last week. That is not a recipe for success against a physical Auburn defense and the offensive line for the Bulldogs will have to play better to have a chance at victory.

Auburn is riding high after their win against Kentucky, a game in which many people were picking the Wildcats to pull the upset. The offense still needs a little bit more consistency in the passing game, but you could see the potential that this group had at times with new offensive coordinator chad Morris. Wide receiver Seth Williams looked fantastic and quarterback Bo Nix looked better, though not perfect.

What was a little surprising was how well Auburns defense played in its first game with so many high impact players missing from last season. The secondary played exceptional and prevented any big plays from Kentucky and the run defense played well after Kentucky scored on their opening possession.

Here is how you can watch Georgia vs. Auburn on Saturday.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Sanford Stadium
TV: ESPN
Livestream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For the Georgia offense, the running game is going to be essential in this game. Auburn has an excellent defense, but for the Georgia offense to have success on Saturday, they need to make life easier for whoever is playing quarterback, whether it is J.T. Daniel or Stetson Bennett. The running game struggled against Arkansas for much of the game and the offensive line played very poorly. The Bulldogs won’t be able to throw the ball if they can’t run it as well.

On defense, Georgia must be able to get pressure on Auburn quarterback Bo Nix and prevent the big plays that Auburn forced against Kentucky. Georgia might have the best overall defense in the country, but one thing that they have struggled with in recent years is getting pressure on the opposing quarterback. Nix struggles when he is pressured and Georgia has the secondary that can capitalize on any mistake that he might make.

For Auburn’s offense, the key will be hitting big play on offense with their weapons on offense. Wideouts Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Mark Anthony Richards have the ability to stress what is otherwise a terrific defense and that is going to be paramount. Georgia is built to stop the run and Auburn is not going to be able to play ball control against Georgia. They need big plays and it will depend on Nix to get the ball to his playmakers.

For the Tigers defense, stopping the run and forcing Georgia’s new quarterback to make big plays on third and long. Getting Georgia behind the sticks will be key and will allow the Auburn defense to send pressure and blitz, and that is what defensive coordinator Kevin Steele loves to do.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of The Action Network

Point/Spread: Georgia -7
Over/Under: 45

Prediction

I think this is going to be a low scoring and physical game between two teams that are trying to prove that they belong in that upper tier of SEC teams. Auburn is the trendy pick here after they had a better showing than Georgia last week and the unknowns that Georgia has at the quarterback position. However, I think that the Bulldogs defense is the best in the country and have the secondary to hold those explosive Auburn receivers down and prevent the big play. Georgia makes a statement in Week 5.

Final Score: Georgia 24, Auburn 20