Auburn Vs. Georgia : Breakdown and Strategy 2009

In this article I shall try to break down and give a forward view of the internal match ups of this game. It is not only one of the oldest rivalries in college football it is one of the hottest contested.

The background of this game is "way" to long to write about. Just let it be known that the series is separated by just a few points over the last century. It has been affected by some of the best coaches and players ever in college football. Traditionally these schools have been the biggest rivals in recruiting, student body, academia, and almost every other way one can think of. Many think of Alabama as Auburn's main rival, while this is some what true in football and is becoming more true in academia and student body, Georgia is still, and always has been Auburn's biggest rival. 

While some will point out that Alabama is in the same State as Auburn, this is true, but the schools have traditionally focused on different areas of academia until recently. Georgia rivals Auburn in every way. Competition for students and Athletes has always been high. 

The Georgia and Auburn rivalry has always been closely matched. Alabama has been totally dominated by Auburn with the exception of the 1958 to 1982 era when Bear Bryant led Alabama to domination over Auburn. Since that time the series has been much as it was prior to that era. The current three win streak over Auburn by Georgia is one of the longest in the series. Neither team has built up a big lead for any period of this rivalry.

This years Auburn team comes in 7-3 with wins over Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ole Miss in the SEC. Georgia comes into this match 5-4 with wins over South Carolina, Arkansas, Vanderbilt.

Auburn has been strong at times this year on offense. It has been an opportunistic, big play offense that can score quickly. Offense has also been Georgia's strength, they have been more pass oriented but just as big play prone as Auburn.

Quarterbacks: Cris Todd leads Auburn his quarterback rating is 146.5 and he ranks 25th in the NCAA this year. He has passed for 1958 yards in the first ten games. Joe Cox for Georgia has a quarterback rating of 137.0 ranks 44th in the NCAA this year and has 1886 passing yards in the first nine games. EDGE: The edge here goes to Chris Todd as he has 9 less interceptions through ten games than Cox has through nine.

Receiving: Georgia is led by AJ Green with 44 receptions for 732 yards. Auburn is led by Darvin Adams with 38 receptions for 627 yards. EDGE: AJ Green has been considered the best possession receiver in the SEC he has 6 touchdowns. Darvin Adams has 9 touchdowns but Green has more against SEC opponents. This gives Green and Georgia the edge.

Rushing:  Ben Tate for Auburn has already gone over the thousand yard mark. Georgia has been ineffective rushing this year. They did show some promise against Florida. Edge: Auburn

Scoring: Auburn has scored 155 points against SEC defenses this year. This is about 25 points per game. Georgia has scored 176 points against SEC defenses this season. This is about 29 points per game. Edge: Georgia +4 points per game.

Defense: Georgia has allowed 194 points to SEC Offenses this year. This is 32 points per game. Auburn has allowed 27 points per game to SEC Offenses. EDGE: Auburn -5

Record: Auburn has beaten the number 4 team in the East, the number 4 team in the West, and the number 5 team in the west. Georgia has beaten the number 3 team in the East, the number 6 team in the East and the number 6 team in the West. EDGE: It seems to be slightly in the favor of Auburn.

Auburn Leads Plus 1 in SEC Statistics and Ranked Wins.

Offensive Line: Georgia is sound in the passing game on Offensive Line. They are weak in run blocking and seem to tire easily as the game rolls along. That traditional trenches push in the forth quarter has been missing this year. Auburn has one of the best Offensive Lines in the SEC in pass protection as well as run blocking. Auburn has a decided advantage here.

Defensive Line: Georgia has proven strong against the traditional running Offenses this year. They have had trouble against strong Offensive Lines with strong backs. Georgia has 22 sacks this year. Auburn has only 20 and has played one more game. The Defensive Line is a distinct advantage to Georgia.

(Auburn has been stronger at Defensive Line in the Last Games)

Defensive Backs: Georgia has 5 interceptions this year. Auburn has 12 interceptions this year. The Georgia defense has been Dominated by every good passing Offense they have faced. They have won some of these contest, but given up gaudy numbers none the less. Georgia ranks 104 in opportunistic defense this year. Ranked by tackles, sacks, interceptions, yards gained after interceptions, yards lost by opponents, and points scored. Auburn ranks 14 in the NCAA in this statistic. (This is not a total defense statistic, but how much the defense helps the offense) Auburn has a decided advantage here. Auburn ranks 25th in pass efficiency defense.

To the point: Auburn has a weakness against the run. They have been "run over" by every team this year. They have allowed 230 yards per game rushing. Georgia ranks 83 nationally in rushing. Auburn is strong against the pass allowing 191.1 yards per game. Georgia ranks 70 in passing. Auburn allows 26.6 ppg in scoring for an 80th place ranking. Georgia ranks 62 in scoring offense.

Auburn matches up well on defense with Georgia. While Geargia will move the ball and score it will be few and far between.

Auburn has a decided advantage when their Offense is matched to Georgia's defense. Using just SEC statistics on games both teams have won. Auburn has a huge advantage. This is removing all of the top ranked teams on Georgia's schedule as they have not beaten any of them. 

If Auburn does not win this game it will be a decided upset. Auburn has the advantage in every factor with the exception of receiving and depth. This advantage gets worse when common opponents are considered. Auburn should win and win big in Athens on Saturday and begin the drive up the rankings for bowl season.

Georgia will be able to run against Auburn. They will have limited success with this due to their lack of a running game. Georgia will attempt to pass against Auburn and will have some success and likely at least two interceptions. Auburn will run and pass at will on this Georgia defense. Georgia will not be able to stop the Auburn offense initially and it will get worse by the quarter. Georgia does not have enough offensive fire power to overcome this deficit. This game could get out of hand and quick.