If Auburn is to spoil Georgia’s playoff chances, its offense must rise to the occasion
As Auburn coach Gus Malzahn wrapped up his opening statement, those listening wondered who would ask the opening question. The obvious one: How Auburn avoids going one-dimensional offensively against Georgia’s defense, a unit that hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all year and ranks fifth nationally in total defense.
“Our coaches and our players are extremely excited,” Malzahn said. Then, silence. One second, two seconds. The anticipation grew. The silence dragged on for what felt like minutes.
“Okay then,” Malzahn quipped, drawing laughs from the media contingent present and jokingly looking to a team spokesperson as if to say, “Already done?”
This is not 2017. The stakes are much different for both teams: No. 5 Georgia, ranked sixth in the College Football Playoff standings, can’t afford to lose another game after the South Carolina debacle — an SEC Championship win likely wouldn’t be enough to sway the playoff committee to include a two-loss team when one of those losses was to a South Carolina team that just fell to Appalachian State.
Auburn likely won’t be playing in the College Football Playoff and definitely will not play for the SEC title. But the Tigers still have the opportunity to play spoiler for their rivals this time around (3:30 p.m. EST, CBS).
“It feels different around here every time you play Georgia — it always feels different — it’s one of our rivals and happens to be one of the top teams in the country, just like they were a couple of years ago,” Malzahn said. “ … It’s part of being at Auburn. The way the schedule sets up, we are going to play them and our other rival here at the end. Next year that will change, but it has been that way ever since I have been here. These are the games that people remember and our players understand that.”
Auburn has the defense to keep the game close, especially so against a Georgia offense that has struggled at times to move the ball. The Tigers’ defense held No. 1 LSU to its lowest point total all season (23) and kept No. 11 Florida within striking distance in Gainesville.
The defense hasn’t been the major question surrounding this year’s Tigers. The offense absolutely has, and its strength plays into the Georgia defense’s specialty.
The Tigers have run the ball well enough this season (at least for the most part), something Tigers coach Gus Malzahn has said numerous times is key to keeping quarterback Bo Nix comfortable. Running back JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow remains sidelined, but could return against the Bulldogs.
Freshman running back D.J. Williams led the Tigers with 93 rushing yards and one touchdown against the Rebels. Five Tigers, including Nix and receiver Anthony Schwartz, registered carries in the Ole Miss game. Harold Joiner, another freshman, nearly scored on a 78-yard reception on a wheel route against the Rebels, coming up just one yard short.
Georgia also held Florida to just 21 rushing yards on 19 attempts — a whopping 1.1 yards per carry — and held Missouri to 50 rushing yards and zero points.
“We know what we can do, we’ve just got to come to work and focus,” Georgia linebacker Tae Crowder said after the Missouri game.
The Bulldogs have stayed dialed in defensively all year. The Tigers will need the same out of their quarterback (and the rest of the offense) Saturday, if they want to play spoiler.
Nix threw for 340 yards in the Tigers’ 20-14 win over Ole Miss, his second 300-yard outing of the season. His completions (30) and attempts (44) set Auburn records against the Rebels, and his 340 passing yards are the third-most all-time against Ole Miss. The 30 completions were two more than his father, Patrick Nix, recorded against Ole Miss in 1995.
According to Auburn’s postgame notes, Nix’s 78-yard completion to running back Harold Joiner in the second quarter was Auburn’s longest pass play of the season and ties for the 13th longest pass play in Auburn records. It’s the longest Auburn completion since 2013 (Sammie Coates from Nick Marshall vs. Arkansas, 88 yards).
“(UGA’s defense) is a really solid group,” Nix said on Tuesday. “Probably one of the more solid teams we’ve played all season. We’ll see what the difference is when we get out there and play them on Saturday … We’ll have a good plan, like we always do. We’ll just go in there and get after it.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 6:44 PM.
