Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

Auburn confident after two straight wins

Three-game losing streak a distant memory

By ANDY BITTER

abitter@ledger -enquirer.com

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn head coach Gene Chizik has spent a good chunk of time watching film of Georgia. He thinks reports of the Bulldogs’ demise are premature.

“They’re very, very talented,” he said. “That has not changed.”

Chizik expects another tough game Saturday when Auburn travels to play Georgia in the latest matchup of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry.

The Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC), fresh off an empty-the-bench 63-31 victory against Furman, a Football Championship Subdivision team, sneaked back into the USA Today coaches’ poll at No. 25 after a five-week absence.

The easy win helped Auburn continue to gain confidence just a few weeks removed from a three-game losing streak. The offense racked up 655 yards against the Paladins, their most since 1988. Defensively, the first-team unit allowed only 59 yards.

Most importantly, both groups got an extended break. The starters took the second half off in what served as a pseudo-bye for Tigers, who will play 11 straight games before a week off.

“Our starters have played a lot of snaps this season,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “And I think it was critical that we got them off the field there late in that first half and the entire second half so that we’re running as fresh as we can be going into this point. Because we’re going to need everything we’ve got to go to Athens and beat Georgia.”

The Bulldogs have owned the series of late, winning the last three games, their longest streak since 1980-82. Two of the latest victories were at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including last year’s nail-biter, a tight 17-13 game Georgia pulled out with a defensive stand in the final seconds.

“I think about it. I think a lot of players do,” linebacker Craig Stevens said. “I haven’t beaten Georgia since I got here. I haven’t experienced that and I feel like a lot of players don’t want to leave here without having experienced that.”

Georgia (5-4, 3-3 SEC) has hit a rough patch this year, although three of its losses were to teams ranked in the top-10 at the time of their meeting — No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 4 LSU and No. 1 Florida.

“I don’t think anything has changed with them,” Chizik said. “They’re going to do what they do and they’re not going to panic. They’ve won a lot of football games doing exactly what they do now. We’re expecting the same old Georgia you always get — tough, hard-nosed, good football team.”

Both teams’ postseason fate might be at stake Saturday. With Alabama and Florida near locks to garner Bowl Championship Series bids, both Auburn and Georgia figure to be in the mix with LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss for the SEC’s next group of bowls — the Capital One, Outback, Cotton and Chick-fil-A.

Whatever the destination, Auburn will at the very least attend a bowl game this year after missing out last season.

“It was kind of rough sitting at home watching everyone else play and your season is over a whole month early,” running back Ben Tate said.

Chizik isn’t stopping to count the wins quite yet — even if Auburn’s seven victories have met or exceeded most preseason expectations — not with two of the team’s most daunting challenges ahead: first Georgia, then No. 3 Alabama at home a day after Thanksgiving.

“Our team is playing well at this point in the season,” he said. “We’re happy to be where we are. We don’t look back; we keep looking forward.”