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Auburn will try to build on last week’s momentum when it hosts Georgia
By Randy Capps
Published:
Two teams coming off encouraging SEC victories will meet in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry on Saturday (noon ET, CBS) when Georgia visits Auburn.
It’s safe to say that both teams have underachieved a bit in 2015, and the main reason why for both teams will be on full display this weekend.
As many as four different players could take snaps for Georgia (6-3, 4-3 SEC) as coach Mark Richt announced that both Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey will both play. Terry Godwin had some success out of the Wildcat, or “Wild Dawg” as they call it, last weekend in a 27-3 win over Kentucky, and Richt said that we may see him or Sony Michel line up in that formation again this week.
Auburn’s quarterback situation is slightly more optimistic and less confusing, but certainly no more settled.
Jeremy Johnson returned to the starting lineup for an injured Sean White and managed the game well as his running game and defense dominated in a 26-10 win over Texas A&M.
White, it seems, is on the road to recovery for the Tigers (5-4, 2-4), and coach Gus Malzahn isn’t tipping his hand on which quarterback will get the starting nod.
“We’re not sure as far as this week goes at this point, but we do have two good quarterbacks,” Malzahn said Monday on his radio show. “We’ve got two guys who have actually won road games in the SEC, which is extremely tough to do. We’re happy to have two of them.”
While both teams have spent the bulk of the season on the quarterback carousel, Georgia has been dealing with an added layer of drama — the speculation about Richt’s future with the program.
Opinions vary about his overall job security, but one thing is clear. A loss in this game won’t help clear any of that up.
The Bulldogs will be looking for a repeat of last year’s 34-7 win over Auburn in Athens, while the Tigers will be hoping to win consecutive SEC games for the first time this season — and crank up the volume on the whispers about Richt’s future in the process.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS CLOSER LOOK
Top player, offense: Sony Michel, So., RB — Michel is just 30 yards away from overtaking the injured Nick Chubb as the team’s leading rusher. His 747 yards are good for 8th in the SEC, and even though he’s sharing the starting job with Keith Marshall on the team’s official depth chart, the Plantation, Fla., native is still the bell cow for this offense.
Top player, defense: Jake Ganus, Sr., LB — The transfer from UAB has been a real find for the Georgia defense this season. He leads the Bulldogs with 63 tackles and has also come up with a pair of interceptions and a sack this season. Ganus had 8 tackles in last week’s win over Kentucky.
Top player, special teams: Marshall Morgan, Sr., K — Georgia is a 1.5-point favorite in this contest, so it makes sense to talk about the guy who might end up deciding the game with a kick. Morgan is only 12 of 17 on his field goal attempts this season, but is currently enjoying a stretch where he’s hit 6 of his last 8 kicks. However, those misses came from 38 and 26 yards out.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
