ATHENS, Ga. — The last time Georgia lost a game, the Bulldogs battled back by peeling the skin off Florida State’s bones, 63-3, but “the Noles still haven’t bounced back.” So it was natural to expect Georgia to turn Auburn into a blue-and-orange pasty, and it pretty much did that, according to the scoreboard: Georgia 31, Auburn 13.
But Auburn didn’t earn its reputation as college football’s great disruptor by rolling over and playing the victim. The Tigers performed well enough on Saturday to hold Georgia back as the Bulldogs racked up touchdown after touchdown against the Auburn defense, sending ripples of nerve through the crowd, especially with a third-quarter touchdown drive.
Auburn played its cleanest game of the 2024 season, but “clean” isn’t enough against the locomotive that is Georgia.
Murmurs echoed at tailgates across campus and in bars and restaurants in Athens as the dreaded word “trap game” was heard amid concerns about Georgia’s tendency to slow starts and questions about quarterback Carson Beck’s stability. It flew around. This is exactly the kind of game the Bulldogs should fear, the latest installment in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry, featuring a volatile and unpredictable opponent who was just a few plays away from making it 5-0.
As it turned out, the trap was set a few hours northwest in Nashville, where Vanderbilt University dominated No. 1 Alabama, 40-35. Cheers echoed through Sanford Stadium every time Vanderbilt scored, and Dawg fans followed the game on their cell phones and watched replays during game breaks.
As has become tradition in 2024, Georgia started slow and chased down to an early touchdown, but meandered for much of the rest of the first half. Auburn was unable to capitalize on its advantage, managing only a few chunk plays in the first half and one field goal in the first quarter.
“We have to come off the field, get field position, fight, turn the field over and take it over,” Smart said after the game. I don’t think we did that. ”
Auburn’s key early mistake came late in the second half. The Tigers were nailed in their own end zone with 1:52 left, trailing 7-3, but barely ran out enough of the clock. A reckless deep ball on second down stopped the clock and gave Auburn the ball back to Georgia with 1:02 left in the first half. Georgia reached the end zone in just five plays and 45 seconds, taking a 14-3 lead that would last until halftime.
The Tigers came alive in the second half, with QB Peyton Thorne completing a six-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to put Auburn within four points of Georgia’s lead, 14-10, with 9:45 left in the third. It was a draw. For a brief moment, Sanford Stadium became anxious, and the quiet anxiety that had been in the air during the pregame tailgate began to pick up steam.
Beck led Georgia to a second straight touchdown drive that effectively sealed the game, but some of the same questions that arose against Alabama went unanswered against Auburn. Georgia still struggled to close down the edge against Auburn’s run game, and Beck struggled with his mobility against Auburn’s pressures. These weren’t game-breaking weaknesses against Auburn, but they could be a problem against the huge teams on Georgia’s schedule.
Beck completed 23 of 29 for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and two sacks. Georgia’s Trevor Etienne carried the ball 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns. On the Auburn side, Thorne threw for an even 200 yards on 16-of-27 passes and had three sacks. Keandre Lambert-Smith had seven receptions for 95 yards, and Jalquez Hunter paced Georgia with 91 yards and a touchdown.
Auburn currently sits at 2-4, 0-3 in the SEC, and while its record is less than admirable, at least the effort in Athens is a hallmark of the Tigers’ early season. There were no mistakes made. The current record is 65-56-8 in Georgia’s favor, and Auburn will have to wait another year to close the gap.
Freeze after the game was a typical unfiltered version of himself. “We’re going to turn things around and find someone who wants to fight for 60 minutes,” he said.
Television showed Freeze beating Thorn on the sideline after a failed 4-and-1 attempt.
Mr. Thorne and Mr. Freeze “just didn’t meet our needs,” he said. Georgia turned a turnover on downs into another touchdown, and that was basically the end of the day for Auburn.
In Georgia’s locker room, the atmosphere was happy but not satisfying. “It’s been talked about all week,” Smart said of last week’s loss to Alabama. So it was all over every Twitter feed, every social media, everything. Before playing (Alabama), I told everyone, “Whether we win or lose this game, we’re going to have a physically tough opponent.” And guess what? It will be next week (in Mississippi). Humility is always a week away in our league. ”
