Auburn vs. Georgia: Score and Twitter Reaction

Todd Gurley grabbed the headlines heading into Saturday's game between No. 9 Auburn and No. 15 Georgia, but his understudy, Nick Chubb, stole the show as the Bulldogs toppled the Tigers 34-7 in Athens.

Much was made of this being Gurley's first game back from suspension and rightfully so. He's one of the best running backs in the country and was a major Heisman Trophy candidate before his four-game absence.

However, Chubb emerged as a bona fide star during that stretch, rushing for 671 yards and five touchdowns in the four weeks without Gurley. The freshman running back served as the silver lining behind Gurley's suspension.

Putting the two together is almost unfair. NFL.com's Bryan Fischer made the parallel to the thunder-and-lightning combo of LenDale White and Reggie Bush from their days at USC:

"Nobody's stopped him and some of them slowed him down a little bit," said Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson of Gurley before the game, per The Associated Press (h/t FoxSports.com). "The only guy that stopped him was the autograph guy."

You can add Auburn to the list of teams that have failed to stop the senior. He rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. He also jumped up to second in the Bulldogs' record books for career rushing, per Seth Emerson of The Macon Telegraph:

Georgia fans had a bit of a scare in the fourth quarter, when Gurley exited with what looked like a left leg injury, per Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald:

Gurley's injury was a bit of a downer, but it couldn't take the shine off Chubb's performance. He led all rushers with 19 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He was also Georgia's leading receiver, catching two passes for 48 yards.

ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler believes Chubb has overshadowed LSU's more hyped Leonard Fournette so far this year:

As good as Gurley and Chubb played, the Georgia defense deserves plenty of credit as well. It held Nick Marshall to 112 yards passing, while limiting the Tigers' ground game to 150 yards, down from an average of 286.4 yards entering the game.

Auburn running back Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for fewer than 100 yards for only the third time all season, amassing 86 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. The Bulldogs dominated this game on both sides of the ball.

But Georgia's finish to the game was in stark contrast to the way it began the proceedings.

Artis-Payne gave Auburn a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game after a 26-yard touchdown run. The Tigers offense is predicated on the running game, so head coach Gus Malzahn will have enjoyed his team's start to the ballgame.

Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee felt that as great as it was for Georgia to have Gurley back, he wouldn't be able to help the Bulldogs defense try to stop Auburn:

But Gurley is electric almost every time he touches the ball, as evidenced by his 100-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. However, referees called the play back for a flag, wiping out the score, as noted by the Georgia Bulldogs:

The Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot again on the very same drive, as an ineligible-receiver-downfield penalty wiped out a brilliant fake punt that got Georgia down near the goal line. Head coach Mark Richt gambled on the 4th-and-8, and it would've paid off in spades without the flag.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach felt that the officials made an egregious error on the play:

Auburn failed to build upon its 7-0 lead, so Georgia would be right back in the game with one big play. And after suffering their fair share of bad luck, the Bulldogs were bound to have something fall their way.

That's exactly what happened with a little over three minutes left in the first quarter. Auburn return man Quan Bray fumbled a punt deep in his own territory, and Georgia recovered on the Auburn 19-yard line. Gurley got the ball down to the 7-yard line, from which Hutson Mason found Malcolm Mitchell for the touchdown.

Chubb handed Georgia a 14-7 lead in the second quarter through a nine-yard run, and Marshall Morgan made it a 10-point game heading into halftime with a 32-yard field goal. The seven points were the fewest Auburn's scored in a first half all season, per the SEC Network:

The Tigers had similar success corralling Chubb and Gurley in the second half—which is to say they had none. The two running backs helped Georgia control the clock and continue moving the ball forward.

One of the issues with Auburn's run-focused offense is that it's not exactly built to close a massive deficit in a short amount of time. That became a major problem for the Tigers in the third quarter, as the Bulldogs' lead swelled to 20 points.

A three-yard touchdown run from Gurley made it 24-7 with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

On its next drive, Georgia was inches away from another touchdown after an impressive run after the catch by Chubb. He nearly ran right through Auburn defensive back Jonathon Mincy before winding his way into the end zone. Alas, Chubb stepped out at the 11-yard line, robbing the Bulldogs of the score and himself of a highlight-reel TD reception.

CBSSports.com's Tom Fornelli joked that allowing the touchdown might have been a preferable outcome for the Tigers, if only because it meant less time having to tackle Chubb:

"

Auburn would probably prefer they let the Chubb TD stand so they don’t have to deal with him again for a few minutes.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 16, 2014"

The Bulldogs settled for a field goal to make the score 27-7.

The Georgia running game continued to dominate the Tigers going into the fourth quarter. The longer the Bulldogs offense remained on the field, the more tired Auburn's defense became, which meant Auburn couldn't get the ball back quickly.

Chubb added an 11-yard rushing TD late in the game to eliminate any chance of a comeback.

Georgia's win doesn't impact the playoff picture all that much, save for perhaps dinging Mississippi State, whose 38-23 win over a then-No. 2 Auburn doesn't look that good anymore.

The Bulldogs still need some help in the SEC East in order to make the SEC Championship Game. Missouri remains 4-1 in the conference. That 38-20 loss to Florida back on Nov. 1 could come back to haunt Georgia in a big way.