College Football

A Blueprint For Georgia?

Updated Oct. 3, 2020 11:57 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

The lone top 10 matchup on Saturday's college football slate featured two of the SEC's proudest programs, the No. 7 Auburn Tigers and No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs – but only one team feasted.

Georgia dominated the Tigers in nearly every facet of the game on their way to a 27-6 victory. 

Here are 3 takeaways from this SEC matchup.

1. Georgia's defense is stout

Auburn entered Athens with the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year, Bo Nix, at quarterback.

They exited Athens without seeing the end zone.

The Georgia defense held Nix to only 177 yards passing while forcing the above interception, a week after Nix threw three touchdown passes against the then No. 23 ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

That dominance also seeped into the running game, where the Bulldogs held Auburn to an astonishing 39 yards rushing.

So far this season, the Georgia defense is only allowing eight points per game, with a matchup against No. 21 Tennessee on the slate for next week.

2. Steady Stetson

Coming into the game against Auburn, some uncertainty surrounded Georgia's quarterback situation, with USC transfer J.T. Daniels recently being cleared to play after freshman quarterback D'Wan Mathis was benched last week against Arkansas.

The Bulldogs might now have their answer – in Stetson Bennett.

Bennett, who also rallied the Bulldogs to a 37-10 win after Mathis was sidelined last Saturday, might not be the most talented quarterback on the Georgia roster. But he might just be the most consistent, which could be all the Bulldogs need as long as their defense continues to dominate.

In his first career start (against a top 10 opponent, at that), Bennett threw for 240 yards and one touchdown while not turning the ball over.

His performance wasn't eye-popping, but it could be indicative of things to come for Georgia: run the ball (202 rushing yards against Auburn) and get stops. Bennett might be just the guy to ensure they do both of those things with minimal hiccups from the quarterback position.

3. About that rivalry ...

Georgia and Auburn might have seemed like an even matchup on paper, but if history was any indicator, this outcome won't surprise anyone.

The Bulldogs have won eight of the last 10 matchups against the Tigers, and this win marks their fourth straight.

Digging deeper, Georgia has won 13 of the last 16 matchups, as well.

These are two of the proudest programs the SEC has to offer, both rich in tradition. But one was clearly top dog on Saturday.

Enter the NFL Challenge contest on the FOX Super 6 app for free and you can win the $100,000 jackpot! Download now at foxsuper6.com!

share

Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Auburn Tigers

College Football

Georgia Bulldogs