Get to Know The Auburn Tigers, Georgia's Oldest Rival and Latest Foe of 2023
The 2023 Georgia Bulldogs find themselves in unfamiliar territory this weekend. After four straight home games to open the season, Georgia finally goes on the road. The destination is the plains of Auburn, one of the more hostile locations in the SEC, especially for the Bulldogs.
This year's clash is the 128th meeting between the two schools in a rivalry that dates back to the formation of both programs in 1892. While they've been intertwined for most of those 131 years, the stature of both programs today couldn't be any different.
Georgia has won back-to-back National Championships and carries a 21-game winning streak and a No. 1 ranking into the contest. Auburn sits at 3-1 after losing to Texas A&M last week. The Tigers are on their second head coach in three years and are coming off a 5-7 season.
However, their current head coach isn't some no-name. Former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is four games into his tenure at Auburn. While the offense leaves something to be desired, the defense has shown signs of living up to the famed "Landshark" defenses Freeze coached at Ole Miss around a decade ago.
Offense
Auburn put up plenty of points against G5 opponent UMass and FCS foe Samford, but the output was much, much lower against Power-5 teams. The Tigers defeated California 14-10 in week two and lost to Texas A&M 27-10 a week ago.
Quarterback Payton Thorne is last among SEC starters with a measly 561 yards on a 65.3 completion percentage. He's tossed just four touchdowns so far compared to three interceptions, and he's been sacked 10 times.
56-percent of Auburn's passing yards have gone to just three receivers. Jay Fair leads the Tigers with 15 catches, 184 yards and two touchdowns. He is the team's biggest threat in the passing game. Shane Hooks adds 106 yards on eight grabs, and Rivaldo Fairweather has 11 catches for 101 yards; both have one touchdown this season.
The offense fairs much better on the ground with a scheme that makes good use of their athletic quarterbacks. Three different running backs have shared the load almost evenly. Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston and Brian Battie have combined for 391 yards on 79 carries. Hunter leads the way with 143 of those yards. Thorne adds 106 yards on 33 carries, and that includes the 10 sacks. Backup quarterback Robby Ashford has totted the ball 23 times for 101 yards and four touchdowns.
The offensive production is what to expect from a program that has faced so much turmoil in recent years. Freeze is Auburn's second coach since it fired Gus Malzahn after the 2020 season. On top of that, the Tigers underwent a massive roster overhaul from the transfer portal.
More importantly, Philip Montgomery is Auburn's sixth offensive coordinator since 2018. Freeze and his staff just have not had a chance to build anything on that side of the ball because there was so little to build on.
Defense
The Tigers tell a different story on defense. They're allowing just 16 points and 298.5 yards, while forcing an average of two turnovers per game. The Auburn defense has been stellar so far this year, and the Tigers are a popular upset pick because of it.
The biggest problem on the defense is linebacker Eugene Asante. He already has a whopping 28 tackles, with 3.5 resulting in a loss; two of those being sacks. Asante also returned a fumble 67 yards to score Auburn's only touchdown against Texas A&M.
He's far from the only menace on the Tiger defense, however. Marcus Harris has three tackles for a loss and two sacks. Five other players have multiple tackles for a loss this year, including Cam Riley who also has two sacks. Then in the defensive backfield, you have to worry about Jaylin Simpson with his three interceptions. In the season opener against UMass, he returned one pick 50 yards for a touchdown.
Though the group is vulnerable an occasional big play. Texas A&M had a balanced 402 yards of offense last week with five plays of at least 20 yards, including a 79-yard run to help ice the game in the fourth quarter.
Auburn Tigers
- Conference: Southeastern
- All-Time Record: 796-465-47 (.627)
- First Season: 1892
- Head Coach: Hugh Freeze
- 2022 record: 3-1 at Auburn; 77-48 career
- 2022 Accomplishments: N/A
- Historic Peak: 2010 BCS National Champions and SEC Champions with a 14-0 record.
- Record Against Georgia: 56-63-8
