Auburn’s next shot at turning the page now has a time and a television window.
The Tigers will meet Georgia on Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. CDT, with the broadcast set for ABC, ESPN or SEC Network, according to a conference release Monday afternoon. The matchup had already been placed in an afternoon slot over the summer.
There is still one more layer to be sorted out after this weekend’s games, since the contest is competing with other big draw games for the ABC and ESPN windows. Missouri at Ole Miss and Alabama at Tennessee are also in the mix, and the final network assignments will be announced after the slate is complete.
Auburn heads into the bye week sitting at 3-2 after Saturday’s 24-14 loss to Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. That defeat came after wins over Baylor, Southern Miss and Vanderbilt, and it also opened a brutal stretch of ranked opponents.
The Tigers will now face No. 2 Georgia, No.
10 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss to finish out October.
The Bulldogs have been cruising so far. Georgia opened with wins over Tennessee State and Western Kentucky, then moved to 3-0 in SEC play with lopsided victories over Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
This weekend, though, Georgia gets its first real test when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a matchup with Alabama.
Auburn is trying to end a nine-game skid against the Bulldogs. The Tigers have not beaten Georgia since 2017, and they have not won in Athens, Ga., since 2005.
Even with Georgia coming off a heavyweight fight against Alabama, Auburn will walk into the game as a heavy underdog. VegasInsider lists the Tigers as 16.5-point underdogs.
In Other News...
Auburn Just Gave Fans A Reason To Watch One Elite Recruiting Battle
Auburn has jumped into one of the earliest recruiting races on its calendar, extending a scholarship offer to Jeremiah Tillman, a four-star edge rusher and linebacker in the 2029 class. The offer puts the Tigers in the mix with a prospect already drawing attention from programs such as Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, and it gives Auburn another chance to sell what has long been one of its calling cards on defense.
Tillman already has a visit to Auburn lined up for Oct. 24, a date that should offer the staff a chance to make a strong impression in person. He has shown interest in Auburns defensive culture and atmosphere, which is exactly the kind of feedback the Tigers want to hear as they try to stay competitive in a battle that figures to only get bigger from here. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Heads Into Bye Week Clinging To One Reason For Hope
Auburn heads into its bye week with a lot to sort through after taking a second loss to Tennessee, but there was at least one encouraging sign to carry forward. Center Cole Best pointed to the teams unity and its refusal to quit even as the game turned difficult, and Auburn did show some improvement in the run game during the second half. For a team still trying to settle into the grind of SEC competition, those are the kinds of small but meaningful details that can keep a locker room from splintering.
Head coach Alex Golesh has kept the focus on accountability without turning to finger-pointing, which matters when the results are not matching the effort. The bigger concern is the sense that Auburn may simply be working through a talent gap against the leagues more complete rosters, a challenge that does not disappear over a bye week. Still, if there is one reason for hope, it is that the Tigers continue to play for one another even while the margin for error keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Tennessee Loss Exposed A Problem Up Front Fans Feared
Auburns loss at Tennessee did more than add another blemish to the record. It put a spotlight on the kind of issues that have been hovering around the Tigers for weeks, especially up front, where the run defense and offensive line both drew harsh reviews in Pro Football Focus grading of the game. In a 24-14 defeat, the numbers backed up what the eye test suggested: Tennessee was able to control too much of the game at the line of scrimmage.
The PFF breakdown also offered a closer look at how individual players fared in the matchup, with Donovan Haslam, Mark Matthews, David Sanders Jr. and Dejuan Lane all evaluated for their roles. On the other side, Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre earned strong marks for his efficient work after replacing Faizon Brandon, which only added to Auburns frustration. For a team trying to steady itself, the concern is not just the result in Knoxville, but what it says about how difficult the Tigers are becoming to trust where the trenches decide games. [Read more 🡒]