It won’t likely matter, but UGA – especially the defense – looks a lot better after Auburn’s 48-45 win over No 5-ranked Alabama.

Two weeks ago, the No. 4 Bulldogs held this same explosive Auburn offense to a pair of touchdowns in a narrow 21-14 win.

Auburn’s win over Alabama knocks the Crimson Tide out of playoff contention – something that will bring a smile to many Georgia fans.

With regards to UGA, the Bulldogs still likely have to beat LSU in next week’s SEC Championship game to earn a spot in the playoffs.

Now if UGA loses a close game to LSU, could the Bulldogs still make the playoffs with two losses? Highly unlikely, but not impossible. Obviously there would have to be a series of unexpected blowouts/upsets next week in other conference championships.

More than anything with the Auburn win over Alabama, UGA will gain a lot of national respect after its defense manhandled the Tigers for three quarters, holding them to zero points. Auburn eventually did chip away at UGA’s worn-out defense, but that was because the Bulldogs offense completely stalled in the fourth quarter by getting only 2 yards of total offense on 12 plays, along with no first downs.

Back to today’s events: This could also cement the perception that the Bulldogs have the nation’s best defense for 2019.

There’s more: A collateral effect of more respect for UGA’s defense will also likely mean more individual recognition in the near future for specific defenders on the Bulldogs’ defense. Maybe not for this year, but for preseason All-SEC and All-America teams for 2020, etc.

Back to 2019: With how stout UGA’s defense has proven to be, if the team’s offense could ever get it together next week and after, then the Bulldogs would obviously be peaking at the right time for a potential championship run.

Auburn is a really good team, perhaps playing as well as any team in the country. And Georgia beat them.