On Saturday, the Auburn Tigers (3-1,0-1) will host the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (4-0,1-0) in the 128th meeting between the two. It's the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, and anything can happen, but with major questions surrounding the Tigers' offense, it will take a valiant effort to pull off the upset. Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze understands the task at hand.
"I'm excited to be back home to play one of the gold standards in college football right now, with what Coach (Kirby) Smart has done there in his eighth season," Hugh Freeze said. "He's got it rolling, so it'll be a great test for us. Thank God we're in Jordan-Hare."
As has been accustomed for the back-to-back National Champions, this year's Bulldogs' defense is stout. They are holding offenses to 12.7 points per game and less than 72 yards rushing per game. For an already struggling Auburn offense, this is not encouraging news.
Auburn's offense has struggled against, sub-par defenses this year, averaging just 8.5 points in their two games against Power 5 opponents, and now they'll face an even better one. The Tigers have many questions that need answering on the offensive side of the ball, and how well they answer those will go a long way in determining the outcome of this Saturday's game.
In order to find offensive success, Hugh Freeze and Auburn Offensive Coordinator Phillip Montgomery must first figure out the quarterback situation. Payton Thorne has struggled mightily against both California and Texas A&M. Thorne threw for less than 100 yards in each of those games.
Will Freeze and Montgomery continue to start Payton Thorne this Saturday?
"We're still wading through that," Freeze said. "But that's probably where we'll land."
The other option for the Tigers is backup quarterback Robby Ashford. Ashford is a dynamic athlete, but has also struggled in the passing game. However, Freeze seemed please with Ashford's limited passing against Texas A&M.
"When Robby came in, I thought he made two really nice throws on two deeps balls," Freeze said. "I thought the routes were not run correctly."
If there is a weak spot on the Georgia defense, it may be their pass rush, ranking 121st in sack percentage, but can either quarterback perform at a high enough level to take advantage?
While the quarterback position garners the most attention, Auburn's offensive line will also face a steep challenge on Saturday. Georgia's defensive line is once again full of big and talented players. If Auburn can find success running the football on Saturday, they could make this game interesting.
Defensively, for the Tigers, there are fewer questions to be answered. The Tigers defense has overperformed so far this season and will continue to be relied on moving forward. Freeze especially liked the performance on Saturday.
"Lot of things that I liked from the defense," Freeze said. "I thought they played extremely hard and were shorthanded."
As Freeze mentioned, the biggest questions on defense may just be the health of the secondary.
Senior Keionte Scott is out indefinitely, but DJ James, Donovan Kaufman and Zion Puckett have all been battling injuries as well. The Tigers will need all three out there on Saturday against Georgia. Luckily for the Tigers, it seems there's a good chance they will play.
"I don’t think it’s anything that will keep them out a significant amount of time," added Freeze.
The Bulldogs offense is still trying to figure out their identity so far this season with first-year starter Carson Beck. Even with the slower-than-expected start offensively, Georgia still has plenty of weapons.
Auburn's defense must be fully aware of star tight end Brock Bowers at all times. Georgia also has talent at wideout with Dominic Lovett and RaRa Thomas. That is not to mention wide receiver Ladd McConkey who has been out so far this year with an injury.
In Hugh Freeze's first time coaching in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, he will look to pull off a monumental upset. If he does, the many questions surrounding the offense will probably have been answered. Come Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium; it will take a special performance from the Tigers to win. Freeze believes it can happen, though.
"I tell them to be very clear on the fact that I've never walked into a game thinking we can't win it, Freeze said. And they shouldn't either."
