Georgia upset No. 9 Auburn on Saturday afternoon, and much of the credit goes to the Dawgs’ defense.
Georgia held Auburn without a 1st down in the 2nd half to spring upset
Auburn QB Sean White was held to just 12 yards in the third and fourth quarters.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Georgia’s defense showed up against the Tigers, and it was a good thing that it did. Heading into Saturday, Auburn was averaging 300 yards per game, and the run game had accounted for 25 touchdowns on the season.
After scoring an early touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in the first half, the Tigers’ offense completely sputtered in the second half. In all seven of Auburn’s offensive possessions in the second half, six of the drives resulted three-and outs.
The one that didn’t was a pick-six on Auburn’s opening possession that allowed Georgia to tie it up at 7. What’s funny about that is the guy who had that pick-six, defensive back Maurice Smith, is the same player that Saban tried to prevent from transferring to Georgia in the first place.
A Georgia field goal early in the fourth quarter gave the Dawgs a slim 3-point lead, and the Dawgs managed to kick another field goal with 2:25 left to go up by six points.
What’s interesting is how committed Auburn was to keeping quarterback Sean White in the game. White, who’s been dealing with an undisclosed injury, came off the bench last week to lift Auburn over Vanderbilt. White’s struggles continued greatly in the second half, going just 3-of-14 for just 12 yards in two quarters.
Apparently after the game, head coach Gus Malzahn admitted that White hadn’t thrown a pass in two weeks during practice.
White’s backup, John Franklin III, threw just two completions for nine yards against Vanderbilt last week, but in the second half against Georgia, a healthy Franklin may have been better than how White looked, who was clearly not 100 percent.
Now the Iron Bowl, which until Saturday looked like it had the potential to be a Top Ten matchup in a couple of weeks, looks much less intriguing. Auburn now has three losses on the season to Georgia, Texas A&M and Clemson. The game against Alabama is still a rivalry game, yes, but if Auburn’s offense looks anything like it did against Georgia in the Iron Bowl, the Tigers could be in for a looong day.
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