Mr. CFB: When It Comes to Georgia-Auburn, The Best Team Doesn't Always Win

Yeah, Yeah. I know what the boys in the desert are saying. They have set the line for Georgia at minus 14 ½ points for Saturday’s game at No. 18 Auburn (4-1).

Yeah, Yeah.  I know what the boys in the desert are saying.

They have set the line for Georgia at minus 14 ½ points for Saturday’s game at No. 18 Auburn (4-1). And the way that No. 2 Georgia (5-0) has been playing—the Bulldogs have allowed only one offensive touchdown in five games—that number sounds about right.

But allow me to provide a word of caution to the Georgia fans.

I’ve been watching this game—the oldest continuous rivalry in the Deep South—for a long, long time. In fact, it is my favorite SEC rivalry. There have been a number of times since the first game in 1892 when the higher-ranked team with national championship aspirations did not win.

Strange things happen in this game. Here are just five examples:

1942: Auburn 27, No. 1 Georgia 13 (in Columbus, Ga.): The 1942 team was one of Georgia’s best with Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich and Hall of Famer Charley Trippi in the same backfield. Georgia was 9-0 and the hype was building for a showdown with mighty Georgia Tech, ranked No. 2, the following week. The winner would go to the Rose Bowl. But Auburn, which finished the season 6-4-1, controlled the game throughout and pulled off the biggest upset in series history.

Georgia beat Georgia Tech 34-0 the following week and then beat UCLA 9-0 in the Rose Bowl. Georgia finished 11-1 and was declared national champions in six polls recognized by the NCAA. But the players on that team never forgot losing to Auburn, which denied them of perfection.

“They beat us fair and square,” Trippi told me when I visited him in Athens many years ago. “But that one (the loss to Auburn) will always stick with us.”

1986: Georgia 20, Auburn 16 (at Jordan-Hare Stadium). Georgia was 6-3 after a 31-19 loss to Florida in Jacksonville and was a double-digit underdog playing Auburn at Jordan-Hare.

Auburn was 8-1 and ranked No. 9 with only an 18-17 loss to Florida and still very much in the race for the SEC championship. A win over Georgia and a win over Alabama the following week would give Auburn at least a share of the SEC title.

Georgia’s chances of winning the game took a big hit when quarterback James Jackson had to return home to attend the funeral of his grandmother. He did not return for the game and Wayne Johnson received his first start of the season. But Georgia played great defense and held the ball for eight more minutes than Auburn—typical Vince Dooley football—to win the game.

The game is best remembered for Georgia students storming the field and having water cannons turned on them. It is still known as “The Battle Between the Hoses.”

1994: Georgia 23, Auburn 23 (at Jordan-Hare Stadium). Auburn, under second-year coach Terry Bowden, arrived with a No. 3 national ranking and a 20-game winning streak. Auburn (9-0) was on NCAA probation and could not compete for the SEC championship. But the Tigers had a chance to go 11-0 for the second consecutive year. Georgia was 5-4, had lost to Vanderbilt, and showed no signs of being good enough to stay close to the Tigers. Auburn missed a 42-yard field goal with eight seconds left that would have won the game.

The next day a headline in the Columbus, Ga., newspaper read: “Georgia beats Auburn 23-23.”

There were no overtime rules in college football at the time. Ironically, Auburn and Georgia would play the SEC's first-ever overtime game just two years later in Jordan-Hare. Georgia won that game 56-49 in four overtimes.

2006: Georgia 37, Auburn 15 (at Jordan-Hare Stadium). Georgia was 6-4 and coming off back-to-back losses to Florida and Kentucky. Auburn was 9-1, ranked No. 5, and still had hopes of playing for the national championship. But Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford had his best game as a freshman and Tra Battle intercepted three passes. Georgia led 30-7 at halftime. Auburn went on to beat Alabama the following week and beat Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl.

2017: No. 6 Georgia 28, No. 2 Auburn 7 (SEC championship game). Auburn came in as one of the hottest teams in the country with wins over No. 1 Georgia (40-17), and No. 1 Alabama (26-14). Auburn got a rematch with Georgia in Atlanta for the SEC championship but the Tigers were not the same team with a banged up running back in Kerryon Johnson, who had injured his shoulder in the win over Alabama the week before.

As a result the upset, Georgia and Alabama both got into the College Football Playoffs and Auburn did not. That's a big loss.

Georgia beat Oklahoma in the semifinals (Rose Bowl) and lost to Alabama in the CFP national championship game in Atlanta. Auburn lost to UCF in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.