Auburn Opens As Massive Underdog to Rival Georgia
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The Auburn Tigers have had some time to work this past week during their much-needed bye week, but the time for rest has come to an end, as on Saturday, the Tigers are set to face off against the No. 1 team in the country, the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are coming off a big-time win against Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium, a statement game for the program, which is looking to pick up its third national championship under head coach Kirby Smart.
The Tigers, on the other hand, are coming off a loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in which the offense looked suspect at best, though there were a few flashes of what could be a top-level offense. Despite that, oddsmakers are not high on the Tigers, as Auburn is an 18.5-point underdog to the Dawgs as of Sunday.
This line is helped by the fact that the game will be played in Samford Stadium, where the Bulldogs have a 60-5 record under Smart. It will take a lot for the Tigers to head to Athens and take down the Dawgs, but that's the beauty of rivalry matchups: anything can happen.
Offensively, the Tigers will enter the Georgia matchup with a total of 1,099 passing yards on the season, as starting quarterback Byrum Brown has passed for 1,055 yards and seven touchdowns on just over 65% completion, though he has thrown a highly uncharacteristic seven interceptions through this point in the season.
Brown's top target, Keshaun Singleton, enters the Georgia matchup with 29 receptions for 322 yards and a lone touchdown, while his fellow USF transfer, Chas Nimrod, follows with 25 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
Brown also leads the rushing attack, as the Tigers have struggled to get their running backs going so far this season, accounting for 344 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 81 carries, nearly doubling the carries of Auburn's RB1, Jeremiah Cobb, who has rushed 45 times for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, rumors have been circulating that the Tigers may be without one of their top linebackers, Xavier Atkins, though nothing has been confirmed on that front as of Sunday. If the Tigers are, in fact, without Atkins, though, things could get much more difficult on the defensive front, especially against a strong Georgia offense.
The Tigers have struggled to get things going so far this season, but they have made just about every matchup quite close, even against top offensive programs like Florida. If the Tigers can keep up with the Dawgs early in the game, the outcome may be quite a bit closer than many expect.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Auburn Opens As Massive Underdog to Rival Georgia.
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