Auburn-Georgia football game: Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray poses tough test for Tigers' secondary

AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn’s secondary is about to face one of its tougher tests of the season in Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray.

A sophomore, Murray threw five touchdown passes in the first half of Georgia’s win over New Mexico State last weekend, but it’s his work the rest of the season that has caught the attention of Auburn’s coaching staff.

Murray has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,060 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions,

“He has made some incredible throws,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “He lives up to the billing.”

Big-name quarterbacks have given the Tigers trouble this season. Clemson’s Tajh Boyd passed for 386 yards and four touchdowns in Auburn’s loss, Arkansas passer Tyler Wilson finished with 262 yards and two touchdowns, and LSU’s Jarrett Lee-Jordan Jefferson combination had 219 yards and three touchdowns on just 23 attempts.

Finding a way to slow down Murray will be key for an Auburn defense that has been at its best when it can control opponents’ passing games. Against Ole Miss, the Rebels racked up yardage on the ground early, but the Tigers kept Randall Mackey in check and allowed Auburn to pull away in the third quarter.

Murray, a sophomore who leads the SEC in passer rating at 151.3, will present his fair share of problems.

Playing as a redshirt freshman last season, Murray still found a way to roll up 273 yards and three touchdowns against Auburn, and Tigers defensive coordinator Ted Roof thinks Murray has gotten even better this season.

“I think he’s gotten significantly better,” Roof said. “He’s making good decisions with the football, and when he pulls it down, he keeps drives alive with his feet.”

When Auburn conducted its self-evaluation last Monday, Chizik said, the defense’s propensity to give up big plays showed up as a problem that has to be fixed.

Auburn has given up a play longer than 40 yards in five of its eight games this season, and Murray is averaging 13.5 yards-per-completion. Blessed with a receiving corps that includes Malcom Mitchell (17.5 yards-per-catch) and Marlon Brown (16.5), Murray has been able to complete plenty of throws down the field.

Georgia’s big plays routinely come off of play-action fakes to the running back.

Following Rueben Randle’s pair of deep touchdowns for LSU against Auburn, the Tigers’ secondary cited helping out in run support as one of the reasons Randle was able to get deep.

“They can play-action you to death, because they’ve got big-play people,” Roof said.

Auburn was able to take the deep throw away from Mackey against Ole Miss, and it limited the Rebels’ offense as Auburn piled up points.

Finding a way to slow down Murray may be the key to slowing down Georgia’s offense on Saturday.

“He makes that offense extremely explosive, because at any time they’re going to throw the ball vertically down the field and hit some big plays,” Chizik said. “All the way around, Aaron makes them click.”