Let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words, two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Auburn Sucks.
Tonight under the lights of Sanford Stadium, Georgia and Texas square off for the first time between the hedges and for the 3rd time in the last 13 months. Texas must win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and Georgia needs a win that will likely lock up a playoff berth and still keep an SEC title opportunity in view. Needless to say, the stakes are high.
Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia has the ball
As mentioned earlier in the first look post, Texas has been successful in stopping the run and sacking quarterbacks most of the season leading to an average of around 2.5 yards per carry. For the Georgia offense to function the way it’s designed, the offense must be able to generate a semblance of a running game throughout. Auburn is the only team to hold the Georgia offense under 100 yards this year as the Georgia ground game averages close to 200 yards per game and 4.6 yards per attempt.
If the Dawgs can rush for 150 yards, I like our chances because while the Texas pass rush has been excellent led by Colin Simmons, the Horns’ secondary has given up yards through the air.
When Texas has the ball
Texas was dreadful on offense early in the year as the Archduke was finding his way at quarterback. The Texas running game is averaging about 80 yards per game in SEC play. If Texas can’t stay in front of the chains, it could be a long night for the burnt orange, and they struggled mightily in both games last year against the Georgia defense. Tomorrow night would be a great time for the Georgia pass rush to show itself as it did in both games last year.
I believe we’ll hold Texas under 100 yards rushing. Can the secondary hold up over 4 quarters?
What will happen
Texas is going to get theirs, but can they get to 30? Alabama is much more explosive than Texas and couldn’t do it. Can Georgia get to the magic number of 30? The offense that showed up last Saturday absolutely can. Will it?
Gunner Stockton outplays Arch Manning. Georgia’s edge on the offensive line makes the difference in a game that goes 4 quarters.
Q. This is Georgia’s last SEC game. You have two more conference rival games after this. Having gone through his twice now, are you comfortable with the structure of your schedule or would you want a bye or a conference bye later in the year?
Steve Sarkisian: “I am not comfortable. I don’t think there’s enough continuity from a scheduling standpoint in the SEC. I understand with us being new to the conference and how schedules get set earlier, years in advance. I think there’s some distinct advantages that some people have where they spread out their non-conference games throughout the season, they play non-conference games in the second-to-last game of the season and we’re playing all ours on the front end.
They’re playing conference games earlier in the year when their team is 100% healthy. I don’t love our schedule, but it’s our schedule. So I do love it in the same breath because it is what it is. You play the schedule. You play the hand your dealt.
But I just don’t think there’s a lot of parody from a scheduling standpoint of who’s getting non-conference games when and who’s getting what level of non-conference opponents because of the impact that it has down the road when you start talking about the playoffs.”
Emphasis added. To be clear, we had some injuries heading into to our first SEC game, and they were some bigguns.
Georgia:
Juan Gaston OL, Questionable
Earnest Greene OL, Probable
Ethan Barbour TE, OUT
Chase Linton DL, OUT
Thomas Blackshear WR, OUT
Well, here’s some other things to consider when it comes to Texas’s schedule and rough going through the conference they were destined to “own”.
Texas has a bye before its biggest conference road game of the year, has no injuries, and only has two opponents coming off of bye weeks on its schedule.
Reminder that Texas also got to avoid Alabama, Ole Miss, and Tennessee in their first two seasons in the SEC…yet still managed to lose to one of the most beleaguered/injured Georgia teams since 2021…twice.
Sark sounds like he needs an emotional support animal. I have a suggestion:
Tell me again about the rabbits, Lennie. It’ll be alright.
A clean injury report? Nary a single person hobbled, out for the season?
The Longhorns will be healthy, but let’s hope they’ll be hearing impaired by the time they fly out of Athens…as well as out of the CFP conversation altogether.
First, on yesterday’s poll, many of you thought the 1 foot rule should be the standard for a variety of reasons. Thanks for participating and throwing in the other rule changes you would like to see. Now to the real subject of the post … our first look.
Saturday night in Athens should be epic and is probably the most anticipated home game since Notre Dame in 2019. The Dawgs can virtually assure themselves of a CFP berth with a win while Texas has been playing with their backs against the wall for weeks now.
Series record
Texas leads the series 4-3 while Georgia has a 2 game winning streak in the series.
Last meeting
Georgia comes back to win the SEC championship 22-19 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in overtime. Texas dominates the first half, but penalties and kicking game woes keep Georgia in the game. Gunner Stockton comes off the bench to lead the Dawgs to a win after a season-ending elbow injury to Carson Beck. Trevor Etienne solidifies his Georgia legacy as the Longhorn killer in the 2 games these teams played last season.
Gambling degenerate facts
Georgia is a 6.5 point favorite in a game with a 48.5 point total. Georgia is a -215 favorite on the money line.
Interesting statistic: 2.41 (Texas defensive yards per attempt)
That statistic is eye-popping as no one has really run the ball effectively against the Texas defense. Florida is the only team to average more than 4 yards per attempt against the Horns defense this year. Given our success this year running the ball, this game sets up to be the irresistible force vs. the immovable object.
Early outlook
Both teams have been stout against the run while susceptible to the pass. One team has been effective running the ball while one has struggled to run the ball consistently. One has had an efficient passing game throughout the year while the other’s passing game has come on as of late. The team that plays the most complementary football is likely the one that walks out of Sanford on Saturday night as the winner.
One team has had a bye week to prepare. One team has a home field advantage on its side … that’s the team that gets it done.
Anyone who leaves Sanford without losing their voice didn’t yell enough. Time to be that home field advantage.
What Texas has done in the AP Top 25 poll this season is historical. I cannot find another instance of a preseason No. 1 team falling totally out of the poll then bouncing back to the top 10 during the regular season.
Outside of the Longhorns and the Irish, who else would get this kind of love in the polls? You think Georgia would get that kind of bounce back, especially pre-Natty days?
Lest we forget Texass lost to Florida…barely squeaked by Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and only beat Mississippi State by a touchdown and a great amount of coaching malpractice.
You knew it wasn’t going to last because of this guy
It was hard to choose the stops on this weekend’s trip around the message boards. With the chaos of the weekend, I could have made Diamond Medallion in a weekend. All of this without a stop in Palo Alto to see the smoking crater that is the Florida State football program.
Let’s start on Friday night in the Sunshine State as the Hurricanes get exposed by Louisville.
In the words of Marc Antony through the Bard, I come to bury Mario Cristobal and Carson Beck, not to praise them. 63 yards rushing for a team whose coach is an offensive line coach by trade. 4 interceptions including a back breaker on the last possession in plus territory when all you need is a field goal to tie the game.
Miami is going to make the playoff because no one else on the schedule is that good and they have the win over Notre Dame. 9 penalties and 4 turnovers equals an undisciplined team that is going to have issues in the playoff.
Let’s head back to the Plains to check on the Auburn Family as they move closer to the ledge after another loss.
At this point, Auburn’s defensive players have to be throwing up their hands in frustration. They have played well enough throughout the season for the Tigers to be undefeated and positioned for a playoff berth. That offense is wretched. They won their turnover margin. They rushed for more yardage. Jackson Arnold wasn’t good but also wasn’t terrible.
That means one thing … Hugh Freeze sucks. This is what you can get when you decide to fire a coach with some success because you believe you can do better. I’m here to enjoy every moment of it.
Let’s head up to South Bend to check on the Boy Wonder and the temperature of Arrogant Nation.
The stat line from Saturday looks like a Lincoln Riley team – 306 yards rushing given up and they only rushed for 68. They got physically whipped by the Irish. Riley has the same advantages at USC that Cristobal has at Miami – an NIL war chest and a fertile recruiting base with no geographic equal. Yet, he can’t seem to get out of his own way in big moments. He could cover that up at Big 12 OU where his teams would just make you play basketball on grass.
Let’s head to Tuscaloosa to look in on Tooth Nation after the 3rd Saturday in October.
Alabama slaps down Tennessee in T-town again. I’ll admit I listened to part of the game on my way home from Athens last night. The Alabama radio announcers are the worst. Eli Gold loved Alabama, but he was a treasure. Their PbP guy is just a Bammer douche on the radio. I had to turn it off before my ears started bleeding.
On to the game, Bama used a flurry in the 2nd quarter to put Tennessee away capped by a 99(!)-yard pick 6 on the last play of the half after the Vols drove the length of the field. That reminded me of Sean Jones running down the sideline in 2003 in Kneeland.
I was happy because one team had to lose.
Let’s head to Music City where Corn Dog Nation has to be beside themselves today.
I didn’t know Cajuns knew any words to replace the f-word especially given the language in one of their cheers.
You would think the motivation message to the LSU Fightin’ Tigers would have written itself, “Vegas has you as a betting underdog to Vanderbilt! What are you going to do about it?” Get Pavia-ed looks like what the response was. Josh Pate haz a sad over Blake Baker’s defense being bludgeoned to the tune of 239 yards yielded on the ground.
I’ve said the Corn Dogs would turn on the Leprechaun as soon as things went south because he isn’t one of them. It’s happening. I’m guessing with A&M and Bama coming up next that Kelly is reading the fine print of his contract this morning.
Let’s head to the Palmetto State to check in on the state of South Carolina college football.
Clemson and South Carolina both lose by double digits, and both Dabo and Baby Beamer find themselves in the crosshairs of their fan bases. I’m not even going to go into the details of the games.
At this point, the Clemson-South Carolina game would be on Raycom or Jefferson Pilot in the old days of TV. If tickets were still paper, a Cock or Tiger fan may put them on the windshield of their car at the local Ingles and find more tickets on the windshield when they come back.
Let’s head up to the bluegrass to check in on how “Texas is back.”
If you looked at a team’s stat line and saw the following numbers, what would you think happened with 179-395 total offense, 132-258 passing, 47 yards rushing and 20:00 of ToP?
A loss by 2 TDs? Well, you would be wrong. That team wins in overtime.
The Archduke has a 25 game QBR with a below 50% completion rate. Kentucky sacks him 3 times.
This Texas team is not good at all. They go to Starkvegas next and then entertain Vandy prior to their off week prior to their visit to Athens. Is it possible Texas could have 4 losses when they visit between the hedges?
For the preseason #1 with the Heisman winner and #1 overall draft pick in the 2026 draft, that has to hurt.
Let’s move on to Hogtown to check in on the mental state of the Handbags.
Sun Belt Billy is out at Florida. When your fan base bemoans a win especially a conference win, you know you’re in trouble. My only question is whether the team quits on the staff heading into the Cocktail Party. As others have said, I wonder if Kirby would bring him up for an analyst role similar to the Jaden Rashada season just to get under the Gators’ hides.
My only message to Kirby is to annihilate them.
Let’s end this weekend back in the Classic City to check on both sides of the game of the weekend.
We have a segment of our fan base who needs to learn about resiliency. That statement isn’t about creating a bogey man or pumping sunshine.
To the Ole Miss fans, the game flipped when the Rebel defense finally completely broke and Trinidad Chambliss realized he wasn’t playing in Oxford or Ferris State any longer. it had nothing to do with ABC’s decisions for TV timeouts.
I have to say two things about the game. First, I would rather see us take chances in man coverage rather than give ridiculous amounts of cushion. Second, I don’t understand Kirby’s decision to go for 2 in the 3rd quarter.
What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
This week didn’t disappoint in the message board universe with upsets, controversy and seasons crashing & burning. We’ll get to the Plains at the end of this week’s journey around college football. Let’s start out with the season crashing and burning in Tallahassee as Pitt ends any hope of a CFP berth for the Tribe.
The only defense really to limit Alabama and Ty Simpson now is leaking like a sieve as they give up 34 points and almost 500 yards to a Pitt team that has lost to the powerhouses of West Virginia and Louisville. Everyone who was hailing Mike Norvell as the turnaround genius in September is now back to calling for his head on a platter. Don’t look now, but the Seminoles have a surging Wake Forest team coming to Tallahassee and a trip for what may be a resurgent Clemson’s Super Bowl as Dabo fights for his job security in the Upstate.
Let’s jump out west to check in on the Handbags of the Northwest … Oregon.
“Humility is a week away” should be a motto plastered on every locker room and weight room in America. After being the latest team to rain on the annual Penn State white-out parade, Oregon gets slapped around at home by Indiana. I love Dan Lanning, but he seems to find a way to lose games his talent and NIL budget shouldn’t lose.
Their fans have a degree of entitlement and expectation not seen since Spurrier and Meyer were on the Hogtown sideline. I don’t care for that fanbase at all. 49-3, you jerks.
Let’s head down the left coast to the Coliseum to check on the state of the Michigan cheating Wolverines.
While not an upset (the Men of Troy were a home field advantage favorite), USC skull drags Michigan to the tune of almost 500 yards and a 2nd half 17-6 surge en route to an 18 point win. The Wolverines’ season is officially on the brink where they will have no marquee wins assuming they lose to anOSU in Ann Arbor. ESPN and the committee want Michigan in their invitational, so Saturday’s loss makes winning out mandatory.
On the other side, the Boy Wonder has Saturday’s trip to Notre Dame and a late season trip to Eugene to bolster their playoff resume or to put Riley officially on a hot seat entering 2026.
Let’s head to the Cotton Bowl and the Texas State Fair to check in on the Crimson and Cream at the Red River Shootout.
Texas methodically puts Oklahoma away with defense and special teams. Josh Pate has slobbered over John Mateer all season, and he doesn’t meet the moment against a Texas team that was reeling after last week’s loss to Florida. The Texas offense continues to sputter under the Archduke. I’m sure F-bum will start the Arch publicity machine back up again.
At least, Texas now has a Power 4 win unlike the Not so Happy Valley faithful after another loss to an overmatched opponent.
James Franklin seems to have completely lost the fan base. (Editor’s note: Franklin is now out as reported on Sunday) Everyone knows Penn State’s 2 wins in the CFP last year were of questionable value at best. Drew Allar is lost for the season with a leg injury. Penn State may be fighting for bowl eligibility this season after starting as the #2 team in the country to prove the value (or lack thereof) of the preseason polls.
I’m sure Franklin consulted today with the Voldemort of agents, Jimmy Sexton, on his buyout provisions to the tune of the 2nd largest buyout in CFB history (behind Dumbo).
Let’s end today’s trip on the Plains for a game that was truly the opening line of a Charles Dickens novel.
Geniuses calling for Kirby’s firing just need to get off the bandwagon and go find another team to cheer for. To the other geniuses who are saying it’s back to the “Donnon” days likely have no idea what they are talking about.
On the game itself, I have no idea what we were doing on either side of the ball in the 1st half. We had no answer on defense for what was one of the SEC’s worst offenses. In particular, Auburn had success running the ball where they could protect Jackson Arnold from making mistakes. On offense, we looked like we were up against the ‘86 Bears with the number of breakdowns we had in the offensive line.
Then, the fumble happened.
After that, the Dawgs took control of the game in a way I wasn’t sure we could do. We couldn’t get a consistent run game push, so Gunner was throwing it around. Our front 6 then absolutely took over the game as Auburn had less than 30 yards of total offense in the 2nd half. Why did that defensive effort not show up from the first snap? That’s what frustrating about this team. They are immensely talented while also being inconsistently motivated.
As to the last scoring drive, the Georgia offense did its best impression of a dementor by sucking the soul out of not just the Auburn defense but the entire program as shown by the reaction of the Auburn family.
It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch that cheered for Nick Fairley and retired Cam Newton’s jersey after being at the Alabama Cow College for all of 1 year.
What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
A couple of big road upsets occur on what was supposed to be a boring Saturday of college football. Needless to say, the message boards lit up across the fruited plain as usual on a Saturday. Before we start our trip, take a quick look at this (remember most of these teams have beaten a ranked opponent at the time of the game).
Just leaving this here for Mumme Poll voters.
Let’s get started this morning this morning in the Classic City where it’s clear BBN isn’t happy with basketball season starting the first week of October.
Kentucky is probably the best job for a coach looking for stability while being the worst for maintaining consistency and acquiring talent. It’s the exact opposite of their men’s basketball coaching job. The problem is their fans are starting to expect close to the same performance from their football program that they expect from their basketball program.
Stoops is probably now a dead man walking unless he finds a way to beat Tennessee to save his job. I’m guessing Kirby told him after the game that he has a spot in his coaching rehab program when the time is right.
On to the game, I don’t understand why Kirby doesn’t coach this game in Lexington the same way he does in Athens. Turn the superior athletes loose and let them make plays. Kudos to Stoops for hitting the over for his buddies in Youngstown by leaving his starters in while Georgia was emptying the bench. I was surprised he didn’t try an onside kick to get a field goal to cover the spread.
Let’s move on to Tobacco Road to check in on the Bill Belichick Experience.
Before the season no one would be surprised that Clemson was going to beat North Carolina. I’m not even sure I would have been surprised to see the Tiggers beat the Heels convincingly.
I am surprised at how quickly things have gotten sideways with Belichick. I thought it was a dumb hire for a Kentucky type of program (football at a basketball school) to attempt to short-cut their way to national relevance, but this has gone worse than I thought it would.
Does Bill have the class to step down and go play golf after 1 year in Chapel Hill? We’ll see.
Let’s stay in the ACC to check in on Seminole Nation.
Yes, the final score was only by 6. -3 turnover margin gets you beat, and many times gets you run out of the building. Down 28-3, the Noles scramble to score 19 in the 4th quarter.
After the Alabama game, I thought Norvell had probably saved himself. His buyout is probably the only thing saving him now as the Noles season is officially on the brink. Trips to Clemson, Raleigh and Hogtown loom for the Tribe.
Is it just me, or does the new Doak just not have the same degree of home field advantage as the old one?
Now, we head to the 2 places you’ve been waiting for this week. Let’s start out at the land of the Big Bang Theory … Pasadena, California … to see how the Lions are doing this morning.
James Franklin has made a lot of money in Happy Valley by beating teams his team is supposed to beat. They went out and hired Jim Knowles away from the hated Buckeyes and threw a bunch of NIL money at players hoping to replicate what anOSU did to win a title.
Instead, now the season is close to half over, and they allowed Oregon to beat them twice. UCLA is one of the worst Power 4 teams in the country, and they controlled much of the game with Nico I accounting for 5 TDs and outplaying the preseason #1 overall pick in the Yankee Cade Klubnik.
I think it’s safe to say that Franklin is quickly wearing out his welcome and a trip to Columbus looms.
Let’s end today’s trip in Hogtown not for the reason we thought at the start of the weekend.
Where’s F-bum today as Arch Manning’s Heisman campaign, after his moment against (checks notes) Sam Houston, crashes and burns in The Swamp? Watching this Texas offense has to be making the Shorthorns wonder where is the Sark who is supposed to be an offensive genius. The problem on Saturday was they sucked on defense as well.
To the Handbags, congratulations on keeping the Sun Belt Billy farewell tour going for another week. A trip to College Station to face an AgCult team who is now taking on the toughness of its coach probably isn’t going to end well for you.
That’s what I saw this week. Share your well wishes to Texas and Penn State in the comments.
