#2 Georgia vs #18 Auburn | NCAAF Potential Conference Championship

Another week, another ranked showdown in the all-powerful SEC as No. 2 Georgia visits No. 18 Auburn in a potential conference championship preview – although Saturday’s loser will have much tougher sledding to get there. The Dawgs are solid favorites on the NCAAF odds in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry.

How to Bet Georgia at Auburn NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium
TV: CBS
Stream: CBS Sports app
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Georgia -14.5 (total 46)

Last Season

In 2020, Georgia was ranked No. 4 when it beat No. 7 Auburn 27-6 in Athens. Dawgs QB Stetson Bennett completed 17 passes on 28 attempts, totaling 240 yards with a touchdown in his first career start. Kearis Jackson had nine catches and 147 yards. Zamir White recorded 88 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. Georgia totaled 442 net yards. The defense limited Auburn to 216 yards including only 39 on the ground and didn’t allow the Tigers in the end zone.

Georgia leads the all-time series 61-56-8 and has won nine out of the last 11 meetings and 16 of the past 20.

Why Bet on Georgia?

The Dawgs (5-0) are absolutely dominating defensively this season and crushed No. 8 Arkansas 37-0 last Saturday despite playing without starting QB JT Daniels. Stetson Bennett was making his second start of the season in place of the injured Daniels but threw for just 72 yards as he wasn’t asked to do much.

Zamir White led Georgia’s ground attack with 16 carries for 68 yards and two rushing touchdowns. James Cook had 87 yards on 12 carries, and Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh combined for 105 yards on 23 attempts, and Milton scored on a 1-yard run.

In UGA’s second straight shutout, Arkansas didn’t reach 100 yards of total offense until the final minute of the third quarter and finished with 156 yards, while the run-first Bulldogs ended up with 273 on the ground and 345 total yards. Arkansas had not allowed any points in the first quarter, outscoring their foes 34-0. Georgia led 21-0 after the first. It marked the first shutout in the series history with Arkansas and the largest margin of victory with the series going back to the 1969 Sugar Bowl.

Georgia leads the nation in scoring defense giving up just 4.6 points per game. Iowa is next at 11.6 p/g. The defense has allowed just one touchdown, and it came in the fourth quarter versus South Carolina with the Bulldogs leading 40-6. Georgia leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally in red zone defense. Opponents have advanced to the red zone only five times this season resulting in three field goals, one missed field goal and turning it over once on downs.

Georgia opponents have scored just 23 points this season. That five-game tally is the lowest since 1937 when the Bulldogs had allowed just 14 points through five contests. The Bulldogs lead the country in total defense, allowing just 178.6 yards/game.

As of this writing, it’s not clear if Daniels will play this week. Daniels was in uniform against the Hogs but did not play after testing his right lat injury in pregame warm-ups. Bennett, a senior, has completed 29 of 41 passes for 515 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in four games, including two starts.

Why Bet on Auburn?

Saturday will mark the 126th meeting between Georgia and Auburn, making it the second most played active series in the NCAA FBS trailing only Wisconsin-Minnesota (130 entering 2021). For only the second time since 1936, Georgia and Auburn will renew their rivalry outside of the month of November.

Auburn (4-1) won 24-19 at LSU last Saturday. Bo Nix passed for a touchdown and ran for a score and Jarquez Hunter scored on a 1-yard run with 3:11 left to give Auburn its first lead. Hunter capped a 92-yard drive with that TD. Hunter’s 44-yard run was the drive’s key play. The freshman rushed for 65 yards on six carries. Hunter has been explosive in limited opportunities for Auburn thus far, averaging 11.0 yards per carry to go with three rushing touchdowns.

Nix completed 23 of 44 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown and added 74 rushing yards and a TD on 12 carries. Nix was named the starter, pulled for a drive in the second quarter in favor of T.J. Finley, and then returned.

Bydarrius Knighten intercepted LSU on fourth-and-6 with 1:09 to play to secure Auburn’s first victory at Tiger Stadium since 1999.

The Tigers rank 14th nationally in scoring offense (38.8 ppg), 16th in scoring defense (16.2 ppg allowed), 17th in total offense (477.8 ypg) and 22nd in total defense (298.4 ypg). Auburn is eighth nationally in rushing defense at 85.4 yards allowed per game; four of the first five opponents have been held to fewer than 100 yards rushing.

Auburn is tied for sixth nationally having allowed only three sacks this season, including three games not allowing a sack. The Tigers’ 200 points are the seventh-most scored through the first five games of a season in program history; the highest total was 218 points in 1995.