Auburn has learned to win; Georgia has not

How thin is the margin between being 7-2 and ranked ninth in the College Football Playoff poll or being 5-4 and scraping for bowl eligibility?

Look no further than Auburn and Georgia, 2016 versions.

Auburn is putting together a season to remember, while Georgia is having a season the Bulldogs would rather forget.

There are plenty of measurable qualities that would suggest Auburn is much better than Georgia. Auburn leads the SEC in total offense, while Georgia ranks 10th. That’s primarily because the Tigers lead the SEC in rushing, while Georgia has struggled to find any consistency running the ball despite having a fleet of quality running backs. Auburn is third-best in red zone defense efficiency, while Georgia is dead last.

It’s a matchup of the Big Bad West against the Pathetic East. The tally to date: West 9, East 1 with four games remaining.

Yet, when you look closer, you see two teams that are much alike.

For starters, two game-ending plays separate them from both being 6-3.

The first came in the third week of the season. LSU thought it had beaten Auburn on a last-second touchdown pass from Danny Etling to D.J. Chark. But the play was voided when replay showed that LSU failed to snap the ball before time expired.

Two weeks later, Georgia thought it had stunned Tennessee on Jacob Eason’s touchdown pass to Riley Ridley. But the Volunteers won on a game-ending Hail Mary touchdown pass.

Then there were the final moments of the games against Vanderbilt. The Dogs dominated the Commodores but somehow lost. The Tigers played Vandy more evenly and somehow won. Both games came down to the final seconds.

So their records easily could be reversed. The fact that they are not speaks volumes about both teams. Auburn is a team that has learned how to win. Georgia is a team still searching for that elusive quality.

Their games against their only other common opponent show how vastly different they can be at times. Both played Ole Miss in Oxford. But Georgia failed to show up and got embarrassed. Auburn played tough and prevailed.

Still, in terms of talent alone, there's not much difference between them. Not to say they are identical. Auburn's offensive line is much better than Georgia's.

The biggest difference between the two, though, is confidence. Auburn has it. Georgia doesn't.

Said another way, Georgia is where Auburn was last year.

Georgia’s hopes of successful start to the Kirby Smart Era are all but shot. The Bulldogs can salvage one thing at least. Despite losing to Florida, they can still have a winning record against their three traditional rivals. That might not be much of consolation. After all, Mark Richt won eight of his last 10 against Auburn and 13 of 15 against Georgia Tech and look how much good that did him. Fired after 15 seasons, even after sweeping them last season.

But the argument could be made that Richt lasted as long as he did at Georgia because he was able to dominate those rivalries. A loss to Auburn would be a step backward for Smart and the Dogs. Even with a loss, they would become bowl eligible with a win over Louisiana-Lafayette. But finishing the regular season 7-5 or 6-6 is hardly satisfying to a fan base that grew weary of 10-win seasons.

For Auburn, the stakes are much higher. The Tigers can win the SEC West by beating Georgia and Alabama. Even if the latter seems close to impossible, that’s a vast improvement over the preseason predictions which had Auburn finishing sixth in the West, ahead of only Mississippi State. A win over Georgia would virtually assure the Tigers of an attractive bowl game, possibly even the Sugar Bowl.

The margin between mediocrity and respectability may be very thin. But in terms of satisfaction levels, the difference is enormous.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Auburn has learned to win; Georgia has not."