Georgia fans don’t often have reason to pull for Auburn, and after losing to the Tigers for the first time in a decade, the idea probably tastes even worse. But from Georgia’s standpoint, there is a case for rooting for Auburn the rest of the way.
Auburn sits at 4-2 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, which means the Tigers are still in position to matter in both the SEC Championship race and the College Football Playoff picture. That is exactly why Georgia should want them to stay just good enough to help UGA, but not good enough to make a real run.
The biggest issue for Georgia right now is how the loss to Auburn looks on the resume. Auburn has been an average team at best, and dropping a home game to that kind of opponent can drag Georgia down when playoff seeding gets sorted out.
If Auburn stays ordinary, the loss looks ugly. If Auburn closes strong and finishes something like 8-4 or better, that defeat could start to look more defensible from the outside.
It still would not be a good loss for Georgia. But it could become one that a playoff committee or outside observer is more willing to overlook if Auburn keeps winning.
There is also the SEC Championship angle. Georgia’s loss to Auburn made its path to Atlanta a little tougher, even though the Bulldogs are still in control of their own fate.
One more loss would change that. Auburn has a chance to pile up those losses for other teams still chasing a spot in the SEC title game.
This week, Auburn gets LSU. In the regular-season finale, the Tigers play Alabama.
Both teams already have two conference losses, and another one would knock them out of the SEC Championship race. If Auburn hands them that extra loss, Georgia benefits by having fewer teams in the mix.
Two weeks from now, Auburn goes to Ole Miss. The Rebels are one of the four SEC teams with just one conference loss, so another defeat there would also help Georgia’s cause. The Bulldogs will get their own shot at Ole Miss in Oxford in a couple of weeks, but it would not hurt Georgia to see the Rebels take another loss before that matchup.
Cheering for Auburn will never feel natural for Georgia fans, and plenty of them probably want no part of it. But since the result in Athens is already in the books, Georgia’s best hope now may be for Auburn to finish the season strong in exactly the right way.
In Other News...
Georgia Gets An Early Road Test Mike White Needed To See
The next step in Georgias preseason tune-up arrives with a much different feel, as the Bulldogs head into an exhibition matchup against Clemson at 6:30 p.m. ET. After Georgias 87-67 win over Charlotte in its first exhibition, coach Mike White has been treating these October games as a chance to sort through personnel, learn about combinations and get a clearer read on what this roster can handle before the games count.
Facing Clemson brings a different level of urgency than a typical preseason outing, especially with the Tigers bringing back key pieces from last season. For Georgia, that makes this more than just another exhibition on the calendar. It is the kind of early road test White wanted to see, one that should reveal a lot about how the Bulldogs respond when the opponent looks more like the teams they will have to navigate once the schedule starts for real. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Now Have To Watch A Brutal New SEC Reality
Week 7 was a reminder that the SEC race can flip fast, and Georgia was right in the middle of it. A weekend that saw the Bulldogs, Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss all go down sent a fresh jolt through the AP poll and tightened the margins at the top, where every loss now feels like it carries more weight than it did a month ago.
The bigger problem for Georgia fans is that the schedule is not offering much breathing room. Week 8 brings another slate of games that could shuffle the conference picture again, with LSU at Auburn, Oklahoma at Mississippi State, Tennessee at South Carolina and Ole Miss at Texas all carrying real stakes for the standings and the College Football Playoff conversation. Even for a program used to living under pressure, the margin for error in the SEC is starting to look brutal. [Read more 🡒]
Milton Faces A Huge Region Test With Playoff Buzz Rising
Milton heads to City Park on Friday night for a Class 6A Region 7 matchup that carries plenty of early postseason weight, with both the Eagles and Gainesville entering the game with six wins. It also has the feel of a showcase, with Milton leaning on senior quarterback Derrick Baker and a roster that includes several college commits, while Gainesville brings its own punch behind quarterback Kharim Hughley and multiple college signees.
The setting only adds to the intrigue, with the game set in Gainesville and streamed live on the NFHS Network for fans following along from afar. For both programs, this is the kind of October test that can sharpen playoff hopes and say plenty about where each side stands once the games start to tighten. [Read more 🡒]