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It goes without saying how big of a game the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is every year. But this year’s Georgia-Auburn game has some serious meaning.
Georgia already has the SEC East title, but the No. 1 team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings has bigger goals in mind, like a national championship, perhaps?
For Auburn, the Tigers can still get to the SEC Championship Game and a rematch with the Bulldogs. But any hopes of that scenario begin with a win at home Saturday.
Here are five notes worth knowing as the matchup approaches:
5) The SEC’s first overtime game
Back in 1996, the NCAA’s overtime rule was instituted for the FBS. And on Nov. 16, 1996, Auburn and Georgia played a classic contest that was decided in the fourth overtime, with the Bulldogs coming out on top 56-49.
The game was the first overtime contest in SEC history, occurring in the 100th game in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
4) A Top-10 first in this rivalry
This will be the fourth time in the history of the rivalry that both teams enter the game ranked in the top 10. It will be the first time in those top-10 matchups that Georgia is the higher-ranked team.
3) Auburn: Magic number is 25
The Tigers come into this matchup having lost three in a row to the Bulldogs and 9 of the last 11 meetings. And over the years, there has been a noticeable theme to the outcome on Auburn’s end.
When the Tigers can score, they win.
Over the last 20 years, when Auburn has managed to score just 25 points, it is 6-0 against Georgia. When the Tigers score 24 or fewer points, they are 2-12.
If you want to take it one step further, Auburn has scored 25 points against Georgia 20 times in the history of this rivalry, which is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary Saturday. The Tigers are 18-2 in those games.
2) Georgia unbeaten facing Auburn
Much has been made this week about how this is the first time since 1982 that Georgia is entering the Auburn game with a perfect record (9-0 that season). Two years earlier, the Bulldogs also had a perfect 9-0 mark by the time they faced the Tigers. Georgia took care of Auburn both seasons.
However, overlooked by many is the fact that in 1983 Georgia entered the Auburn game unbeaten as well, at 8-0-1, the only blemish on a perfect record coming from a 16-16 tie against Clemson in the second game of the season.
That year’s Georgia-Auburn matchup was the first time in the history of the rivalry that both teams were ranked in the top 5 of the AP Poll. Auburn came in No. 3, Georgia No. 4.
In that matchup, it was Auburn handing Georgia its only loss of the season, 13-7. The Bulldogs’ seven points were a season low.
1) Can Nick pass Bo?
While Georgia running back Nick Chubb doesn’t have much of a chance to pass the greatest running back in SEC history — Herschel Walker — on the conference’s all-time rushing list, he could move to fourth on the list, and pass the greatest running back at his rival’s school in the process.
Chubb enters this weekend with 4,291 career rushing yards and needs just 13 more to move past former Auburn running back and Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson.
Chubb still has at least five games left in his collegiate career, and at his current average of 96.3 rushing yards per game, he figures to finish with over 4,700 yards, which would put him second on the SEC career list.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
