On the day we celebrated the life of our content creator in perpetuity at the Railroad lot, the Dawgs handle their business on Homecoming against the Greater Opelika Cow College for the 8th time in a row. Beating Auburn is always great, and playing them as a Homecoming opponent was the pièce de résistance.

Here’s the link to my preview:

“I don’t care for Auburn” – Auburn preview

Team Stats:

As I looked at the statistics again and the scoring summary, Auburn didn’t look awful. It was definitely a case of feast or famine and red zone. 3rd down was the difference in this game as the Dawgs converted at a greater than 50% clip with the Tigers at just under 33%. Auburn only entered the red zone twice with both times being held to field goals and scored their only TD on a poorly defended running play by Jarquez Hunter.

Individual Stats:

3 sacks and 5 total TFLs and Peyton Thorne rarely made any hay with his feet unlike 2023 at J-HS. The defense on this day was opportunistic and played some fairly solid bend but don’t break defense. We probably all thought the performance was subpar especially against the run, and Hugh Sleeze took another moral victory lap at game’s end. Moral and Hugh Sleeze in the same sentence? Yikes.

Something to Consider for 2025:

With the full reinstatement of Young being official with the start of spring practice and another year of Humphreys doing things the Georgia way, these 2 with returning players and transfers could help the Dawgs’ passing game. This game was the last appearance of the year for Young, and I’m not sure it was a coincidence that the offensive production from the wide receivers began to drop off after this game.

After Dan Jackson’s pro day performance (legit 4.4) this week and Starks’s combine performance, I had to give the 2 safeties who are both likely to be drafted now their due. Everyone knows KJ Bolden is next in line to be the next great Georgia safety with his range, tackling and ball skills. One of the story lines of spring practice may be who lines up on the other hash at safety. My bet right now is JaCorey Thomas, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the young DBs make a push for playing time.

Dan Jackson appreciation post … plays like this on special teams may be the reason he ends up with an extended career at the next level. I’m not saying he’s going to block field goals, but #17 has been everywhere for the last 4 years as a big part of the special teams. The NFL is more than happy to keep some guys on the roster who can play but get after it on special teams. Once again, we are going to need someone to take the leadership role on special teams. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s damn important work.

Summary:

18-point wins over your longest running rival never get old. Please, SEC, don’t let the game end as an annual game. 19-6 in the 21st century and 9-1 in the Smart era … that’s ownership. They have beaten Alabama more times over this span than they have beaten Georgia.

Not much else to say, but Go Dawgs!

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