John Durham, the Assistant Sports Editor at The Red and Black, answered a few questions from The Plainsman about Auburn's matchup with Georgia this Saturday.
you can follow John on Twitter at @johndurham32
1) Just how different is this Georgia program now that Kirby Smart is in charge? Mark Richt was there for so long, and it makes sense for the Bulldogs to have some growing pains adjusting to a new coach for the first time in a while.
JD: I didn't have the chance to cover the team when Richt was the coach, but it's easy to see how much this program has changed under Kirby Smart. Smart has come in and changed everything, from the team's slogan to not making assistant coaches available for interviews. It seems to me like he is trying to emulate his program after Nick Saban's Alabama. Saban does not make his assistant coaches free to talk to the media. There have been some growing pains for sure this season in attempting to get players and even fans to buy into the new direction of this program. And at 5-4 this season, Georgia has already taken a step back from the consistency of the Mark Richt era. People weren't expecting a step back, they were expecting Smart to come in and take a consistent program into a great one like Alabama. That's going to take some time.
2) What’s been the primary factor in Georgia’s lackluster season? Losing to Vanderbilt at home isn’t what many people imagined would happen, I assume.
JD: No, losing to Vanderbilt is not what anybody would expect coming into this year for Georgia, especially on Homecoming, of all games. It's easy to point fingers at what has gone wrong, but I'd say the offensive line and special teams have really hurt Georgia. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel aren't having the year we've become accustomed to seeing out of them because of problems on the offensive line, despite a veteran presence with guys like Brandon Kublanow and Greg Pyke. Special teams has arguably been even worse than the offensive line. Rodrigo Blankenship has stepped up and solidified himself as solid field goal kicker for Georgia, especially after the last game at Kentucky. But Marshall Long has struggled punting the ball, and Isaiah McKenzie and the return team have been an absolute mess at times this season for Georgia.
3) Auburn typically has issues winning at Sanford Stadium, where the Tigers haven’t claimed a victory there since 2005, and no matter how each team’s season is going, it seems to be a place Auburn just can’t figure out. What does Georgia need to do to ensure that streak continues?
JD: Georgia will have to slow down Auburn's offense and they have a decent chance at that. The run defense for Georgia has been a strength this year, as they sit at 20th in college football for average rush yards given up per game with 118.2. So, if they are able to fill up some holes and stop guys like Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson, then the focus will turn to a banged-up Sean White on passing downs. It will be far from easy to slow down Pettway and Johnson, though, but in a Georgia-Auburn game, anything can happen as we've seen in years past.
4) What matchups with Auburn scare Georgia the most?
JD: I think the Auburn defensive line against the Georgia offensive linemen scares Georgia the most. Guys like Carl Lawson, Marlon Davidson and Montravius Adams are great at getting to the quarterback, stopping teams behind the line of scrimmage and clogging up holes in the run game. Any of the Auburn players on the offensive line could be in for a big day. And obviously guys like Pettway and Johnson running the ball is something that keep Kirby Smart up at night.
5) How do you see this game shaking out?
6) Score prediction?
JD: I've got Auburn 35-21 in this one.
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