Four Georgia Players Who Could Cause Issues for the Auburn Tigers

Georgia is loaded with talent on both sides of the football.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton is set to make his first start against the Auburn Tigers. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers and head coach Hugh Freeze are facing a must-win scenario this Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs come to town. The Tigers are coming off two straight losses to now-top-10 teams, and the Dawgs aren’t looking to be the reason that streak breaks.

Though Georgia is one of the more balanced offenses Auburn will face this season, they have significant defensive talent as well. As a team, the Dawgs will surely prove to be a threat to both sides of the Tiger team, but these four players may just be the difference in the game.

QB Gunner Stockton

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton has accounted for 11 touchdowns this season. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

In the wake of Carson Beck’s transfer to Miami, Georgia turned to Gunner Stockton, who played a few games last year when Beck was injured. In his first year as the Bulldogs’ starter, he’s put up respectable numbers, throwing for just over a thousand yards and six touchdowns to one interception, while rushing for an additional 194 yards and five touchdowns.

Stockton could easily make or break this game for Georgia’s offense, as he tends to start the game slowly and can be very hit or miss from there on out. If he’s firing on all cylinders, he could be a John Mateer-level threat to the Tigers' defense, but if he’s not, the Dawgs will have to lean on the running game.

RB Chauncy Bowens

Georgia Bulldogs running back Chauncey Bowens averages over five yards per carry. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Chauncy Bowens is the other half of that balanced offense, as he can serve to bolster Stockton when he’s firing, but also to bail out Stockton when he’s struggling. So far this season, Bowens has 310 yards and three touchdowns. 

For those 310 yards, he’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry, which could prove dangerous for an Auburn defense that’s not seen an attack this balanced this season. Even against Oklahoma, the only real rushing threat was quarterback John Mateer, who led his team in rushing yards up until his injury.

 If Bowens rushes well against Auburn’s stout rushing defense, he’ll not only hurt the Tigers with those yards, but also with play-action plays that could see the Tigers overcommitting and leaving holes open in the secondary.

LBs CJ Allen and Chris Cole

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker CJ Allen is one of two linebackers accounting for over half of the team's sacks. | Alan Poizner-Imagn Images

Sacks have been the story of the season for Auburn this season, but not in the way the Tigers want. The Tigers currently lead the FBS in sacks taken thus far this season, and both CJ Allen and Chris Cole have proven time and time again they’re a threat to the quarterback.

The two linebackers account for five of Georgia’s seven sacks on the season (fewer than Jackson Arnold took in the Oklahoma game alone), and could significantly bolster those numbers against an Auburn offensive line that, despite the preseason hype, hasn’t exactly looked strong this season. 

Notably, the Tigers announced Monday that left tackle Xavier Chaplin has been dealing with a hearing issue all season and has struggled to make blocks in time as a result. Freeze did confirm that Auburn was making adjustments as a result.

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Chris Cole joins CJ Allen as the team's dynamic duo at linebacker. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

If things aren’t better for the Tigers’ line, though, Allen and Cole could dominate on Saturday, ballooning both their and the team's sack stats. It’s not out of the question to say that they could double the team numbers in that scenario, as Auburn is averaging exactly seven sacks a game allowed against top-10 opponents.

This game has been considered a “do-or-die” game for Freeze since the offensive collapses against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, so the Tigers certainly have a lot to prove this Saturday. The game will be played at 6:30 p.m. CST and televised on ABC.