Played in September this season, the Georgia vs Auburn Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry game is one that has much different narratives for the two teams taking part in September 30’s intra-division SEC clash.
For Georgia, the pressure is fully on. Having lost one game since the start of the 2021 season, UGA is on a 21-game win streak. The Bulldogs have looked vulnerable several times, though, including in Week 3, when South Carolina held a 14-3 lead over Georgia at halftime. Perhaps the most comparable game to upcoming Week 5’s AU-UGA gridiron joust was October 1, 2022’s Georgia-Mizzou matchup, where the Dawgs had to overcome a touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter in Columbia to knock off the Tigers.
On the flip side, Auburn comes into this one having already gotten their first loss of the season out of the way in a 27-10 rout at the hands of Texas A&M in Week 4. Hugh Freeze has already tempered expectations for the three-game stretch that started on September 23 in College Station and concludes in Death Valley on October 14 against LSU. There’s practically zero pressure for AU on their home field against the two-time reigning College Football Playoff Champions.
How will the juxtaposition of these two situations play out with the spread being multiple touchdowns?
Georgia vs Auburn Odds, Spread and Total
Auburn is a -14.5-point underdog at the spread and is a +450 moneyline underdog; with the Georgia moneyline sitting at -650. The over/under total for the matchup has been placed at 45.5 points. All lines are courtesy of BetMGM and are subject to change.
Georgia vs Auburn How to Watch
Date: September 30, 2023
Game Time: 2:30 Central Time
Venue: Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama
How to Watch: CBS
Georgia Record: 4-0
Auburn Record: 3-1
Georgia vs Auburn Key Players to Watch
Georgia
Ladd McConkey: Auburn fans present at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 9, 2021, know all too well the damage Ladd McConkey is capable of in the passing game. In his breakout performance, McConkey had five catches, 135 receiving yards, and a touchdown.
McConkey has been out with a back injury all season but could make his debut in a cherished venue for the Chatsworth, Georgia native. If the Dawgs are going to be dynastic, McConkey could become a symbol of the run by re-emerging as a weapon for Carson Beck after being one of Stetson Bennett’s most reliable targets for two years.
Brock Bowers: Whether or not McConkey plays, the Tigers will have to contend with the top tight end NFL draft prospect in the entire country, Brock Bowers. Leading the Dawgs in receptions, touchdowns, and yardage, Bowers’s dominance is inevitable to opposing defenses.
In truth, Auburn may not be capable of containing Bowers in the passing game. The Tigers’ best chance of slowing down UGA’s attack is getting to Beck before he has a chance to find and connect with Bowers.
Auburn
Payton Thorne: With Freeze conceding on September 27 that he and his coaching staff haven’t given Payton Thorne the proper coaching needed of them just yet, all eyes are now on the Michigan State transfer to see if a good week of practice can finally turn around a struggling Tigers offense.
If there isn’t considerable improvement in Week 5 — admittedly a tough ask against a perennially stout Georgia defense — the calls to replace Thorne under center could grow louder and potentially sink his first, and potentially last, year on the Plains.
Brian Battie: Jarquez Hunter was supposed to take the rushing lead from Thorne, but Brian Battie ended up as the top rusher in Week 4 against Texas A&M — and despite 23 rushing yards, was the receiving leader as well.
Could it be Battie who turns out to be the star of Auburn’s backfield instead?
Georgia vs Auburn Prediction and Pick
An Auburn team playing with no pressure is too dangerous to count out as a team unable to cover a two-touchdown spread against a rival at home. There’s a legitimate chance the Tigers can win this game if enough things break right; like Ron Roberts’s defense making plays as they did in Week 4, when a Eugene Asante scoop-and-score was the program’s only touchdown.
Hard not to take the points here.