Before Auburn hits the road for its first away game of the season against Georgia, The Auburn Plainsman's sports editor, Patrick Bingham, and assistant sports editor, Grace Heim, joined sports editor Bo Underwood from The Red and Black for an in-depth discussion about the upcoming matchup.
Heim: Georgia just lost its first regular season game since 2020. It was a close one, but did you notice any problems that concern you heading into the rest of the season?
Underwood: “I think the two biggest things in the game were, if you want to start with offense, it was just Carson Beck. I think he looked a little bit rattled early in the game, and it took him a really long time to get out of it. He threw three picks. One of them, I would say, wasn't his fault. It was a screen that, you know, like Arian Smith just ran the wrong route on the other two were pretty bad. The one at the end, obviously. And then the pick he threw to jihad Campbell was maybe the worst pick I've ever seen him throw. Um, so he's just got to play better. I think there's no other way to put it, other than just he has to be better. He has to avoid mistakes like that.
"On defense, they just, I think their biggest issue is they just can't tackle. They missed 15 tackles against Kentucky the game before that. And then I believe the number was 15 again, against Alabama. And you know, when you can't tackle anybody, you're not going to win many football games.”
Bingham: Georgia’s offense has gotten off to slow starts in all its FBS games this season (Clemson, Kentucky, Alabama), have you noticed any consistencies during this run and do you expect it to continue?
Underwood: “They're just coming out there at the start of the games and just looking kind of sluggish. I think the culprit against Kentucky was they allowed a lot of pressure early, and I think it kind of shook back up a little bit where (Beck) just wasn't as effective in that game. And then Alabama just, (the Bulldogs) were just making a lot of really bad mistakes...And I think as the game goes on and that sense of urgency builds up, especially against Alabama, when they were down by 28 that sense of urgency just kicks in, and I think it's what ultimately drives Georgia to improve as the game goes on. But, yeah, I mean, these slow starts are impossible to ignore, and it's hard to say whether I think they'll continue or not, just because I don't think there's really one or two things you can blame for it, but they haven't really shown much indication that it's not going to be like this going forward.”
Heim: Which player(s) do you think will be the biggest game-changers for Georgia in this matchup? Do you expect any player to have a breakout game?
Underwood: “I think the guy who has probably been Georgia's best receiver all season, even though it hasn't always popped up on the stat sheet, is Dominic Lovett. Whenever I watch Georgia, I think he's the guy who I always notice getting open the most. He always seems to create separation no matter what…He's the most consistent performer, I think, for Georgia, this whole season offensively. They've had a bunch of guys come in and out and make huge plays here and there, but he's been the one guy that I think has been consistent in every game, and I think this Auburn game is a good opportunity for him to have a statistical breakout.”
Bingham: If this is a close game in the second half going into the fourth quarter, why do you think that is from a Georgia perspective?
Underwood: “I think it will be because Georgia continues to not be able to tackle and continue to struggle with perimeter blocking on the outside. That was their big thing against Kentucky was not only were they struggling with tackling, but on offense, their receivers were doing such a bad job of blocking on the perimeter that anything they tried on the outside, whether it was a run or even a pass, everything was just getting shut down. If the reason, if this is a close game, I think the reason is going to be George's defense really struggles with tackling, and they catch themselves in a poor position on some of these RPOs that Auburn likes to run. And you know, Auburn is a team that, yes, they turn it over a lot, but they also move the ball really well. If Auburn can take care of the ball, and, you know, hit a few plays on RPOs, whether that's through the air on the ground, this could become a close game. You know, Georgia has let its opponents hang around a lot this season, and Auburn did it last year. I think they can do it again.”
Heim: What should Auburn be most worried about heading to Athens?
Underwood: “I think they're playing a Georgia team that has a lot to prove, and that's the number one thing. Georgia is coming off of a loss in one of the craziest college football games we've ever seen, first regular season loss in four years. It's going to be a team that a lot of people are paying attention to. And, you know, of course, in the media, a lot of people are saying a lot of different things about this team. Georgia has shown that it's been really good, bouncing back after games like this. Even the things that went wrong from them against Kentucky, like the tackles played horribly against Kentucky, and they looked really, really good against Alabama. So there's nothing that, you know, suggests that Carson BecK who had a bad game against Kentucky and had a bad game against Alabama has shown that he can bounce back and have these type of rebound performances. I think that's what Auburn should be the most worried about, just playing a Georgia team that wants to stake its claim as the best team in the country.”
Heim and Bingham: Your prediction for the game?
Underwood: “I think it's going to be a game where Auburn is going to get off to a pretty good start. I think Hugh Freeze knows how to play this Georgia team, and he's got a system that he really sticks with and that he really knows how to run. We saw just last year that Auburn gave Georgia all sorts of trouble on the ground between Payton Thorne and Jarquez Hunter. Auburn has a pretty good offense. I think it's a lot better than what I'm hearing some of my friends here at Georgia talk about. I think this is going to be a game where Auburn is still in the game at halftime, and I think a lot of Georgia fans are gonna be freaking out about that, but ultimately, I do think Georgia just has more talent on both sides of the ball, and they have a lot to prove in this game, and I think they're gonna pull away in the second half. So a score prediction for me would be Georgia 34, Auburn 17.”
Auburn and Georgia face off in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ABC.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
