SEC Round-Up: Auburn looks to play spoiler for Georgia, Alabama
A showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 college football teams in the nation looms in early December. Both those teams could be in the College Football Playoff.
Indeed, for the second time in seven years, two Southeastern Conference teams could clash in the national championship game.
All that is possible unless…
Meet Auburn — the fly in the proverbial ointment. The Tigers (7-2), who are ranked 10th in the latest College Football Playoff standings, could put an end to the SEC’s hopes of repeating its 2011 feat when LSU and Alabama vied for the national title.
Georgia, which has already won the SEC East Division race, is now No. 1 in the CFP rankings. Alabama is No. 2. Auburn plays both, including Georgia on Saturday.
An Auburn win in either of those games would likely end speculation that the SEC gets two teams in the playoff. Eventually, Auburn could even prevent an Alabama-Georgia matchup in the SEC title game. That would require the Tigers defeating both the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide.
Taking the first step would mean slowing down Georgia’s awesome running game. The Bulldogs average 297.3 rushing yards to lead the SEC.
Nick Chubb has rushed for 867 yards and nine touchdowns.
His backup, Sony Michel, has rushed for 710 yards and nine touchdowns.
Even though quarterback Jake Fromm threw two touchdown passes in last week’s 24-10 victory over South Carolina, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn knows containing the run is the key to upsetting Georgia.
"They're pretty efficient when they throw it, too," Malzahn said this week. "I think just from a coach's standpoint, no matter what it is, you've got to try to stop what they do best. If they threw the ball, you'd have to stop the throwing. But they actually run the ball very well, and so obviously that's where it starts.”
Auburn is proficient in run defense and has allowed fewer than 175 rushing yards in eight of its nine games. Auburn can also glean encouragement from the healthy of quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
The last two seasons Auburn had injury issues at quarterback. Stidham is healthy and playing well, which he demonstrated by throwing for 268 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s victory over Texas A&M.
However, Malzahn said the Tigers are encouraged because they’ve gotten healthy on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
“I feel good about where we're at going into this game," Malzahn said. "I feel like we're getting a lot of our defensive guys healthier too. Each year is different. Our team has a little bit different mindset than they had last year."
Georgia vs. Auburn is known as the Deep South’s oldest rivalry. Georgia holds a 57-55-8 edge in the 120-game series. Yet, this will only be the fourth time they’ve met with both teams ranked in the top 10.
The fifth time could be this year, too. That would thwart the SEC’s postseason hopes, though.
Around the SEC...
Who’s hot: Ole Miss appeared in deep(er) trouble when quarterback Shea Patterson was lost to a knee injury two weeks ago. That forced Jacob Ta’amu into the starting lineup. Turns out, that hasn’t been a bad thing. In two starts Ta’amu has completed 51 if 70 passes (72.8 percent) for 750 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He’ll attempt to maintain the 300-yard passing streak against Louisiana-Lafayette, which is ranked 121st in the nation in total defense and 95th in pass defense.
Who’s not: Remember when Florida’s defense was reliable even if nothing else was? The Gators can’t even count on defense now. In consecutive losses to Georgia and Missouri, Florida has surrendered 87 points and allowed 848 total yards. Gator linebacker David Reese criticized his teammates and their effort in the loss to Missouri. The last time Florida allowed at least 40 points twice in the same season was 2007. That year they were beaten 42-30 by Georgia and then lost to Michigan 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl. The good news is that Florida won the national championship the next year, so … Never mind.
Keep an eye on: Kentucky running back Benny Snell has rushed for 356 yards and scored six touchdowns in the last two games. Also, he needs 103 rushing yards to become the third player in school history to post consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. If he reaches that mark he’ll become the third player in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards and score at least 13 rushing touchdowns in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. The others to do that are Georgia’s Herschel Walker (1980-81) and Knowshon Moreno (2007-08). Snell is facing a Vanderbilt defense which has allowed at least 212 rushing yards in each of its five SEC games.
The pressure is on: Arkansas coach Bret Bielema probably would have been fired last Saturday had the Razorbacks not rallied for a 39-38 victory over Coastal Carolina. Don’t believe it? Ask Jack Crowe, who was axed after losing to The Citadel in the 1992 season-opener. Anyway, the Razorbacks (4-5) need to win two of their last three just to attain bowl eligibility. That doesn’t appear too promising with LSU, Mississippi State and suddenly rejuvenated Missouri remaining on the schedule.
Best matchup: Georgia tackles Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wynn vying against Auburn defensive ends Marlon Davidson and Jeff Holland is a big-time, heavyweight matchup. The entire unit vs. unit clash of Georgia offensive line and Auburn defensive line is quite intriguing. Georgia leads the SEC in rushing offense and is third in sacks allowed. Auburn ranks fourth in rushing defense and sacks. Still, the tackles vs. ends competition will be especially interesting.
This week’s games: New Mexico at Texas A&M; Alabama at Mississippi State; Arkansas at LSU; Georgia at Auburn; Louisiana-Lafayette at Ole Miss; Florida at South Carolina; Kentucky at Vanderbilt; Tennessee at Missouri
