Will the West be won?
Coach Gene Chizik asks this question in preparing for the 2010 edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry against Georgia.
A win would earn a trip to Atlanta for the Tigers.
"We have our work cut out for us," Chizik said. "Offensively, (Georgia is) hitting on all cylinders. I think their quarterback certainly has enough games under his belt right now where he's really becoming a really good SEC quarterback.
"Defensively, they're playing much better. They're probably in the top four in probably just about every category defensively in the league, and they're going to come in here ready to play."
Chizik said a major concern will be Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, entering the game with 32 catches for 510 yards.
Green missed the first four games of the season after being suspended for selling a jersey, but since his return, the Bulldogs have averaged 40 points per game.
"When you have one guy that commands so much attention,"
Chizik said, "you spend hours trying to figure out how you're going to cope with him."
"Certainly, with him, they do a great job with some short screen-game things with him, and he can turn those two- or three-yard gains into 30-yard gains or touchdowns," Chizik said. "They throw a great deep ball to him and always have."
However, Auburn's answer to Green is also Georgia coach Mark Richt's greatest fear: junior defensive lineman Nick Fairley.
"The biggest problem, in my opinion, is Nick Fairley because he makes it very difficult," Richt said. "We talk about getting the ball down field to A.J. (Green), but to do that you have to hold the ball a little while. It's hard to hold the ball a little while when that guy is coming because he is relentless. Fifteen quarterback hurries, 18 tackles for loss, seven and a half sacks--those are huge numbers for a interior defensive lineman. Those are Warren Sapp kind of numbers."
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof will no doubt utilize Fairley to stop Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and, thus, stop Green.
"It seems like everybody's got at least one of those 6-4 guys who run like gazelles and can jump and take the ball away from you," Roof said. "One of their big things is that they throw the football down the field. They take vertical shots in the passing game. The best way to combat that is pass rush."
Junior quarterback Cam Newton said Georgia's defensive prowess will be a force to be reckoned with, specifically against the Auburn receiving corps.
"We know that Georgia is a dangerous team as a whole," Newton said. "This defense has some talented players, from the defensive line position, the linebacker position and also the secondary, and we have to have an excellent week of practice. They're very talented, like I said earlier, and if we don't prepare like we have been, it could be real ugly."
Still, senior defensive back Zac Etheridge said he thinks the Tigers' offense will stand up as well.
"They've got a great receiving corps. We've got great receivers, too," Etheridge said. "Darvin, T-Zach, all those guys that we see every day in practice. So we're up for the challenge."
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