AUBURN, Ala. — Football is a game of inches. Against Auburn, the difference may have been millimeters.

Georgia was a yard away from being down 17-0 at the end of the first half. Instead, it rallied for an unlikely 20-10 road win over the Tigers. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play. Auburn drops to 0-3 in the SEC and 3-3 on the season.

The rivalry win will be sweet for Georgia, because of how it won. It outscored Auburn 17-0 in the second half, as the Tigers had just 40 yards of offense.

The Georgia offense was far from pretty but it did enough to secure the win, pushing the Bulldogs deeper into the season with their playoff hopes.

It was a strange game, with 17 penalties called.

But Georgia found a way to win, beating Auburn for a ninth-straight time. It ties the longest winning streak in the rivalry.

Georgia steps up in the fourth quarter

A Cash Jones blindside block penalty on Cash Jones negated a 26-yard gain from Colbie Young that would’ve had Georgia at first and goal on the Auburn two-yard line. The penalty was called after Kirby Smart appeared to call a timeout, but the refs deemed he did not.

After a Stockton scramble, Peyton Woodring missed a 45-yard field goal. It was Woodring’s first missed field goal of the season and kept the score at 13-10.

Georgia’s defense forced a third-straight three-and-out of the second half, giving Georgia the chance to take the keys out and go for a drive.

Stockton found London Humphreys for a 17-yard gain to pick up a third down. Then he would hit Zachariah Branch to pick up another. On a fourth-and-3, Stockton found Humphreys for a an 8-yard gain. On third down again, Stockton hit Nate Frazier for another third-down conversion.

To cap things off, Stockton scrambled in for a 10-yard touchdown run on third down to give Georgia a 20-10 lead. Stockton finished the night 217 passing yards and 26 rushing yards to go along with the touchdown. He was Georgia’s leading rusher.

Prior to the drive, Georgia had just one third-down conversion in the game. It was death by a thousand cuts for the Tigers, as the Bulldogs milked 8:45 off the clock.

The 17-play drive was tied the longest touchdown drive in school history.

In some ways, the first half was the worst of Georgia’s habits this season. The offense was listless, with two three-and-outs. The defense couldn’t slow Jackson Arnold, who was effective with both his legs and arm.

But the second half showed the mental resolve Georgia has displayed consistently. It kept fighting and eventually flipped the game.

Georgia did enough and can ride back to Athens in getaway car, living for another week.

No one is happy at the end of the first half

Weird things happen in Jordan-Hare Stadium and that was the case once again on Saturday night.

With Auburn driving to go up potentially 17-0, Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold tried to push his way into the end zone.

But as Arnold pushed the ball near the goal line, Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson punched the ball out of Arnold’s hands.

In the confusion, defensive back Kyron Jones scooped up the ball and returned it to the opposing end zone. It seemed the Bulldogs had scored to make it potentially 10-7.

But upon review, the officials determined that the ball had indeed been fumbled but that Jones was whistled dead, despite video evidence showing he never touched the ground.

The Auburn turnover was the first of the game for either side. It’s the second-straight week the Georgia defense forced a fumble, with CJ Allen doing so last week against Kentucky.

The turnover came at a huge time for the Bulldogs, as Auburn’s offense gashed the Bulldogs all half. Prior to the fumble, Auburn had outgained Georgia 238 yards to just 19 for Georgia.

The Bulldogs ended up turning the fumble into a field goal to cut Auburn’s lead to 10-3. Georgia’s drive into field goal range was aided by a targeting call, a roughing the passer call and an Auburn offsides.

Georgia football wins the third quarter

Georgia didn’t use the end of half momentum to immediately put themsevles back in the game. Its first drive stalled out after a failed fourth down attempt where the Bulldogs thought Auburn had jumped offsides.

But the Georgia defense got a fourth down stop of its own. And then the Bulldogs climbed into control of the game.

Georgia set up its first touchdown of the night thanks to a 30-yard pass to Noah Thomas. Prior to the catch, the Texas A&M transfer had just 24 receiving yards on the season.

After Thomas’ long reception, Chauncey Bowens pushed his way into the end zone to tie the game at 10.

On the ensuing drive, Georgia forced an Auburn three-and-out thanks to a third-down CJ Allen sack.

The ensuing drive didn’t end in a touchdown after a third down screen pass to OScar Delp was blown up. But Peyton Woodring gave Georgia its first lead of the night thanks to a 52-yard field goal. Georgia converted a fourth down on the drive when Gunner Stockton pitched the ball to Nate Frazier.

For good measure, Georgia’s defense forced another three-and-out on Auburn’s final possession of the third quarter. To make matters worse, Auburn’s Hudson Kaak shanked a 14-yard punt.

For as poor as things were going in the first half, Georgia did just about everything it needed to in the third quarter.

Georgia football news and notes

Georgia started its sixth different offensive line combination to start a game this season. Bo Hughley started at left tackle while Juan Gaston started at right tackle. Monroe Freeling entered the game on Georgia’s third drive, flipping Hughley over to right tackle.

The win moves Smart to 10-1 in his time against Auburn. He now has a win against Auburn every year in his time at Georgia.

Georgia returns to Sanford Stadium next week to take on the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET start on ABC.