Early showdown in SEC as No. 4 Georgia hosts No. 7 Auburn

Posted October 01, 2020 7:00 am

By The Associated Press

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass against Kentucky during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) The Associated Press

No. 7 Auburn (1-0) at No. 4 Georgia (1-0), Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Line: Georgia by 6 1/2.

Series record: Georgia leads 60-56-8.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

An early test of power in the mighty Southeastern Conference, featuring a pair of Top 10 teams eager to make a statement. It's hard to see anyone navigating through 10 league games without at least one slip-up, so a loss wouldn't be fatal to either team's chances at this early stage of the season. But the winner certainly emerges with a edge toward the SEC title game and a possible slot in the College Football Playoff.

KEY MATCHUP

Auburn QB Bo Nix vs. Georgia's defense. Nix is riding the nation's second longest streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception, pushing it to 218 in a season-opening victory over Kentucky. The only longer streak belongs to Clemson's Trevor Lawrence (276). The Bulldogs are high on their defense, which limited Arkansas to just 77 yards rushing and 280 yards overall in Week 1. But they'll be facing a much more dynamic offense this time around.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Auburn: LB K.J. Britt. An AP All-SEC selection in 2019, he is on the watch lists for the Bednarik, Butkus and Nagurski awards. Britt posted a career-best 11 tackles in the season opener. He has 107 tackles and 13 tackles for losses in his career.

Georgia: QB JT Daniels. The transfer from Southern Cal has been cleared to play after recovering for a serious knee injury that kept him to miss most of 2019. Redshirt freshman D'Wan Mathis struggled in his first college game at Arkansas, and former walk-on Stetson Bennett had to bail out the Bulldogs in the second half. Look for multiple quarterbacks to play against Auburn.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Deep South's oldest rivalry began in 1892. ... Georgia is planning to have a socially distanced crowd of about 20,000 at 92,746-seat Sanford Stadium because of coronavirus restrictions. ... The Bulldogs have gained an upper hand in the historic series, winning 15 of the last 19 meetings including three in a row. ... This game was traditionally played near the end of the season, but a revamping of the SEC scheduling format even before the pandemic struck pushed it near the start of the season. ... Jack Podlesny was impressive in his debut as Georgia's kicker, making a pair of 38-yard field goals, connecting on all three PATs, and booting five of six kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

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FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2018, file photo, then-Southern California quarterback Jt Daniels scrambles with the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against UNLV in Los Angeles. Two transfers, Jamie Newman, from Wake Forest, and JT Daniels, from Southern Cal, are names to watch in Georgia's five-player quarterback competition. Newman may be the favorite as practice started Monday because Daniels is still recovering from a knee injury at USC. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) The Associated Press

Georgia quarterback D'Wan Mathis drops back to pass against during the first half of the team's NCAA college football game against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Woods) The Associated Press

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