Intriguing Game- NCAA Football: Week 11
(1) Georgia Bulldogs at (10) Auburn Tigers
Georgia: For the second consecutive week, the Georgia Bulldogs claimed the top spot in the latest rankings for the second straight week and once again, I agreed with the committee’s choice and as long as they continue to win football games, they’ll remain there. I will explain again why they have the top spot over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs have two wins over quality opponents (meaning ranked), one over Notre Dame on the road in week two and a few weeks later, they defeated Mississippi State. Those two wins obviously stood out to the committee and Bama’s schedule hasn’t been all that strong to be completely honest. Coming into the year, I had them winning the SEC East and they did just that last week as they’ve been dominant all year long. Kirby Smart clearly has this program headed in the right direction and he made a bold move by continuing to start Jake Fromm at quarterback over Jacob Eason who was healthy enough to start. The big thing that stands out to me with their offense is the two-headed monster they have at running back with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, the best running back tandem in the nation. Watching these two run the football reminds me a lot of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams back in their days with the Carolina Panthers. Their front seven is their strength of the defense and they get more than enough push-up front to allow the secondary to make plays on the football. Despite having their division clinched already, there’s still football to be played.
Auburn: They are in a good position right now and have lived up to the off-season hype. This is the best that I’ve seen them look since 2013, the year when they shocked the world and beat Alabama on a wild kick return, won their division, won the SEC Championship over Missouri and got to the national title game only to fall short to the Florida State Seminoles. Sean White was expected to be the projected starting quarterback coming into the year, but Baylor transfer Jared Stidham and he’s done a great job this year throwing for 1,996 yards in the air and 11 touchdowns through nine games. He’s accurate (completes 66 percent of his passes), he displays the mobility to scramble around and extend plays and he has that big arm, something that Gus Malzahn has wanted for years. Auburn is 7-2 right now and in second place behind, you guessed it, the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC West. Their two losses are against the defending champion Clemson Tigers and LSU where they held a big lead and blew it. As a defense, they are great at stopping the run. The Tigers rank fourth in the SEC versus the run, limiting opponents to 126.4 yards per game through nine contests. The Tigers are allowing just 3.3 yards per rush and no opponent has eclipsed 175 rushing yards against this defense. This is the beginning of a very important stretch for the Auburn Tigers and it starts with a battle with Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
Georgia Player To Watch: Trenton Thompson– He’s the guy that holds everything down in the trenches on the defensive line. He’s a scrapper. He can shed blockers, make tackles in the middle of the field and it’s key for Georgia to control the line of scrimmage in this game.
Auburn Group To Watch: The Tigers Receiving Core– This will be the best pass defense that they’ve seen all year long. Running the ball simply won’t work. Darius Slayton, Ryan Davis, Will Hastings and Eli Stove along with Stidham throwing the football will all need to be on the same page.
Prediction: This is an extremely important stretch for Auburn head coach, Gus Malzahn. His team faces the number one ranked team in the nation and to close things out, they’ll face Alabama who will more than likely be ranked second. He loses these two, he could be out of a job.These are two of the more physical teams in the nation that we’ll see square off on Saturday afternoon. Auburn will have to find some type of way to establish Kerryon Johnson somehow even if they get him going in the passing game on quick screens. In order for Georgia to keep Auburn’s offense in check, it has to win the battle up front. Additionally, maintaining discipline and the edge will be key.
Prediction: Georgia 26 Auburn 23
