Auburn football is certainly going to have their work cut out for them this weekend. Going toe-to-toe with the #2 team in the nation is no small feat, and when you add in the fact that UGA’s defense is currently the best in all of college football it makes Saturday’s matchup look a little more daunting.
After a brief quarterback controversy on the Plains, it seems clear that Auburn football’s first-year head coach Bryan Harsin will be sticking with veteran Bo Nix as long as possible this season. Nix definitely deserves another go after the magical performance he put on in Death Valley, but it’s comforting to know that Finley is waiting in the wings, should we need him.
However, there isn’t as much certainty when it comes to the QB1 position in Athens. UGA head coach Kirby Smart is working with two injury-battling quarterbacks this season in JT Daniels and Stetson Bennett IV. Daniels, who was the starter in the Dawgs defeat over Clemson, hasn’t played a game since and has been dealing with a lat injury.
Meanwhile, Bennett has led the Dawgs to four more victories but is now working with a tweaked back. The QB’s back injury does not appear to be too devastating, because he’s expected to start this weekend on the Plains.
Harsin is taking no chances with his first trip to the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, and will have the team prepared for whichever UGA players hit the field on Saturday, per Auburn Undercover:
"“You have a gameplan and I think you understand there’s different players, and it’s not just the quarterbacks; I mean, look at when they put different tight ends in the game, when they put different tailbacks in the game,” Harsin said. “There are things that, from a defensive standpoint, you need to be ready for when they’re utilizing different personnel. Quarterback is one of them as well. You’re going to have a structure, you’re going to have a gameplan going into it, and there’s going to be tweaks, adjustments you make from it, but the most important thing is that we play sound, physical defense and we have our guys in the right position, that we communicate and that we do a good job in tackling and taking advantage of our opportunities when we can with some one-on-one matchups and find ways to win those.”"
Auburn football will host Georgia this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where kickoff will take place at 2:30 p.m. central time.