by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Oct 05, 2021
Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET, October 9, 2021
Venue: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Where to watch: CBS
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Georgia -14.5
BetMGM: Georgia -14.5
Caesars: Georgia -14.5
Season record
No. 2 Georgia: 5-0 (3-0 SEC)
No. 18 Auburn: 4-1 (1-0 SEC)
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Georgia - Auburn preview and analysis
Recent form
Georgia: won 37-0 vs. No. 13 Arkansas on Oct. 2
Auburn: won 24-19 at LSU on Oct. 2
How talented of a team do you have to be in order to be a two-touchdown favorite on the road against a top-20 team?
Clearly good enough to destroy one of the hottest offenses in the SEC by shutting them out at home last week.
Destiny has clearly convinced us that, sooner or later, we’re getting the Georgia Bulldogs taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide for an SEC Championship that will be epic. But that’s down the road.
For right now, Georgia’s quest for world domination continues Saturday in what’s a stretch of four ranked opponents in a row, with the 18th ranked Auburn Tigers next on the docket at Jordan-Hare.
If last week was any indication, may we all say a prayer for Auburn now?
Because it doesn’t appear through five weeks of college football action that any team is scoring more than two touchdowns against this Georgia defense. Shutting out the Vanderbilt Commodores by 62 points is one thing. To come back home and overwhelm the Arkansas Razorbacks the way they did is another matter entirely.
Arkansas, one of the more feel-good stories of the early season, was humbled to the tune of a 37-0 dominant effort from Georgia. The Bulldogs’ defense held the Razorbacks to 162 total yards of offense, and kept quarterback KJ Jefferson to only 65 yards on 8 of 13 passing.
It was such an easy day that Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (playing in place of JT Daniels) had to only pass 11 times for 72 yards. Georgia’s running game, led by Zamir White’s two touchdowns, had 273 rush yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs special teams unit also did its thing, blocking a punt for a touchdown while Jack Podlesny made three field goals.
It took 345 yards of total offense for Georgia to finish the job. The Bulldogs are the biggest challenge to Alabama for a championship, both national and in conference, because of this stout defense that’s allowing *cleans glasses* 4.6 points per game.
No doubt the Bulldogs are going into their toughest road contest this season with a fired-up Auburn crowd ready to cheer their Tigers after a come-from-behind two-score win at the LSU Tigers last week. Led by starting quarterback Bo Nix’s 329 total yards and two touchdowns, Auburn vaulted itself back into the top 25 by way of besting the other Tigers.
The Tigers’ offense put up 453 total yards in Death Valley. No matter how bad LSU has been in recent years, that’s still a tough feat to accomplish. The Tigers forced LSU quarterback Max Johnson to throw 46 times for 325 yards and even intercepted him once. A rough time was had for coach Ed Orgeron yet again.
It’s another era of Bo Knows at Auburn. Bo also knows he’s in for one hell of a beating Saturday from this Georgia defense.
Prediction
There hasn’t been an offense that’s been able to crack the code of this defense led by head coach Kirby Smart. Auburn doesn’t have the formula to figure that out, but I’ll be watching how this Georgia team handles a rowdy crowd. It won’t have an ultimate impact in this matchup, but we’ll see how the defense responds in a hostile environment. Georgia will still do enough to cover. With Kentucky and Florida on deck, this is one of those times we can assume the Bulldogs won’t be looking ahead. Georgia by 21
Betting trends
Georgia is 3-1 against the spread as a favorite this season and have won 24 of its last 26 outright.
Auburn is 2-2 in its last four ATS as a home dog and 5-6 ATS as an underdog in its last 11.
Statistical leaders
Georgia:
Passing: JT Daniels -- 567 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Zamir White -- 275 yards, 4 TD
Receiving: Brock Bowers -- 272 yards, 4 TD
Defense: 18 sacks combined
Auburn:
Passing: Bo Nix -- 979 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT
Rushing: Jarquez Hunter -- 447 yards, 3 TD
Receiving: John Samuel Shenker -- 236 yards
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
