Auburn, Chizik Enter "Amen Corner" with Confidence

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Two weeks ago, Auburn was coming off an embarrassing loss in Baton Rouge to LSU. A game where Auburn's offense under Gus Malzahn looked as bad as it had all season and left the Auburn faithful wondering if this 2009 campaign would mirror the 2008 season where the team collapsed down the stretch.

Well, coming off a big win over a ranked Ole Miss team, and a homecoming blowout of Furman, the Tigers are once again confident as they enter what former Auburn coach Pat Dye used to call, "Amen Corner." The last two games of the season against their two biggest rivals, Georgia and Alabama.

Last year, Auburn came into this game with 5-5, and was really down to their last shot at making it to a bowl game in 2008 at home against Georgia. The Tigers came up short and went on to finish 5-7 with a blowout loss to Alabama to end the season.

Entering "Amen Corner" this year though, this Auburn team is in a much different situation. First year Auburn coach Gene Chizik righted the ship after three straight losses and has this team thinking New Year's Day bowl game, but a win over Georgia is most likely needed to accomplish that.

Georgia comes in sporting a disappointing 5-4 record, and head coach Mark Richt is certainly catching some heat this year. Make no mistake though, this Georgia team is still talented and very capable of putting a run together.

It's a very big game for first year coach Gene Chizik though, his first chance of getting a win over a hated rival, and a chance to send his Auburn team into a game with a likely undefeated Alabama riding sky high.

Auburn has lost three straight games in this series, after winning five of seven from 1999-2005.

This rivalry generally produces some classic football games, and Auburn has a chance to really exceed those critics expectations with a win in Athens Saturday night.

Traveling to Athens is never an easy task though with Auburn's last trip there in 2007 ending in a blowout during the Bulldogs first "blackout."

With Georgia only having black capes left to bring out to surprise anyone, this looks to be back to a classic game in the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry," and a win that this Auburn team would desperately love to get.

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