From 1937 to 2019, Georgia and Auburn would play each other in November. The lone exception came in 1943, when the two teams did not play.

But since 2020, the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has been played earlier in the season. Five of the last six meetings have taken place in October, with the sixth being played in September. This year’s game will take place on Oct. 17, just before Georgia’s off week.

One of the bigger reasons that the game was moved was because Auburn no longer wanted to play Georgia and Alabama in back-to-back SEC games at the end of the season. From 2015 to 2022, those teams combined to win five of the eight national championships.

But during this upcoming season, Georgia will, ironically, face Alabama and Auburn in back-to-back weeks. On Oct. 10, Georgia will travel to Alabama.

It marks the second time in the previous three seasons that the schedule has worked out that way, as Georgia had the same setup in 2024. Georgia lost to Alabama 41-34 but rebounded by beating Auburn 31-10 at home the following week.

Auburn will get the week off before facing Georgia, as it did last year when Auburn hosted Georgia. That extra week to prepare seemed to work for the Tigers as they raced out to a 10-0 lead. Were it not for a perfectly timed punch from CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson, the Tigers very nearly would’ve had a three-score lead before halftime.

Georgia rallied in the second half to come away with a 20-10 victory over the Tigers. That result ultimately played a part in Auburn parting ways with Hugh Freeze this offseason.

Auburn replaced Freeze with USF head coach Alex Golesh. He’s the fourth different head coach Auburn has employed since Georgia hired Kirby Smart back in 2016.

Golesh has SEC experience, though not as a head coach. He worked as the offensive coordinator for Tennessee under Josh Heupel in 2021 and 2022.

Golesh brought 13 transfers from USF with him, most notably led by quarterback Byrum Brown.

The game against Auburn comes after a stretch of three straight games against teams that finished inside the top 15 of the final College Football Playoff rankings from last season. It will also be the fifth straight SEC game for Georgia, as its bye comes the week after this rivalry clash.

This season is a bit of a reboot for the Tigers after the disastrous Hugh Freeze era. With the extra week of rest and Georgia coming off a highly anticipated game against Alabama the week before, Golesh will have a chance to do something Auburn hasn’t done since the 2005 season. That would be to win in Sanford Stadium.

Georgia has dominated the rivalry under Smart, winning 10 of 11 contests against the Tigers. The schedule works against Georgia this upcoming season against Auburn, in a way that Auburn itself has wanted to avoid.

But don’t expect Georgia to make the same level of complaints that Auburn did in an effort to get the game moved. The Bulldogs will just want to spot the ball and win yet another rivalry game in this series.