Quentin Groves, No. 54: gets in the face of Georgia QB Matthew Stafford in 2007. ARCHIVED
November brings crisp autumn air, leaves changing color and for SEC football fans, the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.”
Head Coach Mark Richt’s No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 SEC) will return to the Plains Saturday to take on an Auburn Tigers (5-5, 2-4 SEC) squad that has struggled this season.
The Tigers will be looking to pay UGA back for the previous two meetings between the teams. The Bulldogs won both matchups by a combined total of 47 points.
Offensively, Georgia is commanded by Matthew Stafford, a quarterback whom experts say is a top NFL draft prospect because of his vision and arm strength.
Stafford has thrown for over 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He’s averaging a 60.7 completion rate on his passes and has thrown just eight interceptions on the year.
It can be argued that Stafford’s effectiveness is boosted by having Heisman-candidate Knowshon Moreno in the backfield.
Moreno has already rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, with 15 touchdowns to his credit on 188 carries.
With Moreno averaging nearly six yards per carry, the Bulldogs have statistically been dominant in both first downs and red zone production.
True freshman wide receiver A.J. Green has been a major factor in the Bulldog’s offense (ranked No. 1 in the SEC).
Green leads the entire SEC in receiving yards per game, averaging 80.6 yards and recording six touchdowns on the year.
Quentin Groves, No. 54, is knocked aside trying to get to Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, No. 7: Auburn was dominated last year in Athens, Ga., losing to the Bulldogs 45-20 Nov. 10. Georgia was ranked No. 10 when the two teams met. ARCHIVED
The numbers put up by Green have lifted UGA to the top of the SEC in passing offense, averaging 273.8 yards per game for nearly 3,000 yards on the season.
Georgia’s offensive line has had trouble protecting the quarterback in certain games, but has done well overall giving up just 13 total sacks, tied for fourth in the SEC.
Defensively, the Bulldogs haven’t been quite as good compared to their offensive statistics, giving up an average of over 300 yards per game and surrendering 41 and 49 points in their two losses to Alabama and Florida.
Pass defense has statistically been a problem for the Bulldogs, where they rank 10th in the SEC, surrendering an average of more than 200 yards through the air per game.
One area where UGA has been successful on defense is in total rushing defense.
The Bulldogs rank third in the SEC in rushing defense, giving up an average of just 102.6 yards per game this season.
Sophomore linebacker Rennie Curan leads the team in tackles (89), sacks (three) and tackles for loss (7.5).
Sophomore safety Reshad Jones heads the Bulldog secondary and has recorded a team-high three interceptions on the year.
Special teams have statistically been solid in some areas and weak in others for the Bulldogs.
Georgia is second in the conference in punt return average (17.6 yards), but is 10th in kickoff coverage (39.9 yards.)
Auburn leads the all-time series 53-50-8, with UGA riding a two-game winning streak.
However, the last 10 years have been split down the middle with both teams winning five of the matchups.
In the 111 meetings between AU and UGA, only 45 points separate the total points scored by both teams.
The rivalry began with the first game played between the two in 1892.
The only periods of time the game hasn’t been played were during World War I and World War II.
Last season, the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 45-20 in the now infamous black jerseys.
Kickoff is slated for 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will be televised live by Raycom TV.
