ATHENS — Georgia football has opened as a 3 1/2-point favorite over Auburn in the teams’ 7:30 p.m. game (TV: ABC) on Saturday night.
The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will be facing a Tigers’ team (3-2, 0-2) that has its back to the wall after opening the season with two SEC road losses to teams ranked No. 5 (Texas A&M) and No. 6 (Oklahoma) in the nation.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has won nine of the 10 games he has coached against Auburn, including the past eight, but that history won’t be worth any points when the teams clash on Saturday night.
Indeed, Georgia narrowly escaped an upset loss in its most recent trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium two seasons ago, having to rely heavily on All-American Brock Bowers -- eight catches, 157 yards -- to score a 27-20 victory.
RELATED: How Brock Bowers saved the day in 27-20 win over Auburn
Auburn will be coming off a bye, giving Coach Hugh Freeze an extra week to prepare his Tigers what has become the biggest game of their season as they look to keep SEC championship game and College Football Playoff hopes alive.
“(I) worry about everything,” Smart said, when asked his thoughts on Auburn having the extra week of preparation before the rivalry game. “But the priority list is our team more than everybody else.”
Georgia is coming off a convincing 35-14 win over Kentucky that saw its shuffled offensive line perform well, paving the way for 183 yards rushing at 4.4 yards per clip.
The Bulldogs’ defensive line, meanwhile, held the Wildcats to just 45 yards rushing after they entered the game averaging 188 yards rushing per contest.
Freeze indicated Auburn would be working to clean up some offensive line miscues that have proven costly in its past two losses.
“Prior to the last two weeks … we were probably top 10 or so in the country in third down conversions and in rushing per attempt, and that’s fallen drastically,” Freeze said on the SEC coaches teleconference last Wednesday.
“Our biggest issue is getting behind the chains.”
Freeze pointed to offensive line issues against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and suggested the Tigers need to ensure balance in the offense.
“We have to commit to running the football again, more so, even if it’s a 2-yard gain or 3-yard dirty run that keeps us ahead of the chains,” Freeze said. “There’s a lot of calls I think we have to reevaluate as coaches.
“Even though it’s an open week, it hasn’t been an open week for our offense staff.”
Here’s a look at the other opening lines for games involving SEC teams next Saturday:
Alabama -4 at Missouri
Washington State at Ole Miss -32.5
Oklahoma at Texas -2.5
Arkansas at Tennessee -13.5
Florida at Texas A&M -8.5
South Carolina at LSU -10
