Heading into No. 12 Auburn’s game against No. 4 Georgia this Saturday, one can’t help but think back to 2017. That year No. 2 Georgia came into Jordan-Hare and fell to No. 10 Auburn, 40-17.
Now, in 2019, Auburn faces a Georgia team that is on the playoff bubble while Auburn is hoping to secure its third win against a ranked opponent.
While Auburn is not looking back at 2017 for guidance, the Tigers can see the similarities between then and now.
“We really haven’t talked about 2017,” said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. “Now here’s the good thing for us, there’s a lot of our players that will be on that field Saturday that were there. Now the thing about it, they played a bunch of young guys back then too so they have a lot of guys that have experience too as far as that goes. …They happen to be one of the best teams in the country just like they were a couple of years ago, and we’re in probably a similar situation as we were a couple of year ago too. We’ll see what happens.”
Defensive tackle Derrick Brown is one of those players that was on the field in 2017 and will be back on the field this Saturday. His focus isn’t on the past, but rather on the importance of these last games of the season.
“I try not to look back at the past, to be honest,” Brown said. “I mean, I just think that, you know, for us to be able to do what we want to do and be able to have a chance at the things we said that we want, then we know that this back stretch is the most important to us. Every single year, playing Georgia and Alabama have always been the high focus points and winning those games on the back end. So I mean, that’s whether you’re an Auburn football player, Auburn fan—I think that’s the most crucial time of the year. I just think that’s one of those things where it will never change.”
The 2017 defense was able to hold Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm to one touchdown and less than 200 passing yards. Georgia had just 46 total rushing yards in that game as well. Overall the Auburn defense held the Bulldogs to just 230 total offensive yards. In comparison, the Bulldogs averaged 435.3 total offensive yards per game that year.
This season Georgia is averaging 448.4 total offensive yards per game and is holding opponents to 260.3 total offensive yards a game. Auburn, on the other hand, is averaging 425.1 total offensive yards per game while holding opponents to an average of 334.1 yards a game.
The Tigers will face off against the Bulldogs on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be broadcasted on CBS.
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