NO STRANGERS
Georgia prepares for longtime rival Auburn
ATHENS, Ga. — Is it possible to avenge a loss twice?
The Georgia Bulldogs certainly hope to find out Saturday night inside Sanford Stadium against longtime rival Auburn.
The Bulldogs were No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings last November when they traveled to Jordan-Hare Stadium and were ambushed 40-17. The loss derailed Georgia’s 9-0 start, but the two programs met again three weeks later in the Southeastern Conference championship game, and the Bulldogs pulled away for a 28-7 triumph.
“I feel like losses like that always stay with you and that you always have that resonating in your mind,” Bulldogs senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter said Monday. “It’s a nasty taste in your mouth that never really goes away. Our win was really sweet, but we still remember that loss.
“We just know what kind of game it’s going to be, because it’s always physical.”
The Bulldogs marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead in last year’s regular-season meeting, but then Auburn completely took over and went on a staggering 40-3 run. Kerryon Johnson, now a rookie with the Detroit Lions, rushed 32 times for 167 yards and was complemented by quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who had 214 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Georgia rushed for just 46 yards on 32 carries despite possessing the tailback tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, who are now with the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots, as Auburn pulled within a game of the Bulldogs in the all-time series lead.
The win by Georgia inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium gave the Bulldogs a 58-56-8 lead in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry, which is motivation enough for Georgia coach and former Bulldogs safety Kirby Smart.
“It’s a rivalry game, and so many of our kids are recruited by them and vice versa,” Smart said. “It’s always a rivalry game, and I think a big part of that is being at your best when your best is needed. That’s the challenge for our guys.
“We’re playing at home at night, and it’s important to our fans and players to protect our home turf. We want to put our best effort forward, and we’re certainly going to have to with the challenge they present.”
Auburn was No. 2 in the country when it traveled to Atlanta as SEC West champ, but this year’s team is 6-3 overall, 3-3 in SEC play and relegated to the cusp of the Top 25. The Tigers can only be spoilers at this point, serving as two-touchdown underdogs this week and facing an even steeper climb when they venture to Alabama on Nov. 24.
An Alabama-Georgia showdown already has been set for the SEC title game on Dec. 1, leaving many of the No. 5 Bulldogs looking at what’s in store rather than what transpired during last year’s trip to Auburn.
“We have enough motivation with what we have going this year,” junior running back Elijah Holyfield said. “We have a chance to play for more things down the road, so we’re just looking forward to playing a good team and executing our best.”
Said junior safety J.R. Reed: “We won the East, and that was one of our goals. We’ve just got to keep winning.”
Davis delivering
Interior defensive linemen typically don’t rack up tons of statistics, but 6-foot-6, 320-pound freshman Jordan Davis has compiled 18 tackles. Davis has started Georgia’s last two games, which were impressive wins over Florida (3617) and Kentucky (34-17).
“He’s playing better than I ever thought,” Smart said. “I didn’t think he would play, and a lot of our coaches said, ‘Don’t give up on this guy. Let’s travel him. Let’s take him.’ We didn’t take him early on, and that was probably a mistake.
“He didn’t grow until we said, ‘You’ve got to play.’ He played in some mop-up duty early in the season, but I didn’t see this until he lost some weight. He’s been playing well.”
Odds and ends
Georgia has won 10 of the last 13 against Auburn. … Reed on whether he daydreams about Alabama: “Do you daydream about Alabama? I don’t daydream about Alabama at all.” … Georgia’s last two games against UMass (Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 24 at noon) will be televised by the SEC Network. … Smart said senior center Lamont Gaillard (hyperextended knee) would be limited at the start of this week and sophomore right guard Ben Cleveland (fractured fibula) could have played in Lexington.