The Auburn Tigers (7-3) return to conference play to face their oldest rival the Georgia Bulldogs (5-4) Saturday. The rivalry is known as the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry and began in 1892.
The series is the seventh most played in the country, tying with Oregon-Oregon State. Auburn leads the series 53-51-8 and is 18-10 in Athens.
The Tigers are coming off a 63-31 homecoming win over the Furman Paladins, a game where Auburn put up 655 yards of total offense.
"It was great to out there and get a win," said head coach Gene Chizik. "We played a lot of young guys today and every senior on the squad, which is really important for us to be able to do that."
Senior quarterback Chris Todd completed 17 out of 18 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.
"Chris did a really nice job," Chizik said. "It is hard to complete that many (throws) in a row."
Auburn's running game was led by wide receiver Anthony Gulley. He ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns on five carries.
Auburn is 10th in the nation in rushing offense (230.0), tied for 11th in scoring offense (35.0) and 12th in total offense (450.3).
Although the Tigers offense is top 25 quality, the Tiger defense can not be overlooked. Auburn has held four of its last six opponents to less than 25 percent on third-down conversions and ranks 17th nationally in that category.
Senior defensive end Antonio Coleman leads the Southeastern Conference with 12.5 tackles for loss and is tied for second with 6.5 sacks.
Joining him is senior defensive back Walter McFadden.
McFadden is tied for first in the SEC in interceptions (four) and passes defended (11).
The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a 38-0 win over Tennessee Tech last Saturday, posting its first shutout since 2006.
The Bulldog defense held Tech to just 55 yards of offense, which is second best in school history. Sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green leads the SEC in receptions per game (5.5) and receiving yards per game (91.5).
Georgia is fourth in the SEC in rushing defense (120.9) and 11th in passing defense (211.1).
Kickoff is 6 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
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