Auburn vs. Georgia used to always be in November. It was cold, and sometimes each team created bitter despair for the other by handing them the loss that kept them from glory. They may not have won the SEC, but at least their rival wasn’t going to win either.
The series is one of the longest-running in the nation: 134 years old, 130 games played. As recently as 2014 it was tied at 55-55-8 after 118 meetings. Only 1 point separated the teams after 104 meetings in 2000.
I was at the 1996 game at Auburn when the Tigers tried to run for the game-winning touchdown with about 22 seconds and no timeouts. The ball came loose; there was confusion. Auburn had the ball and tried to line up and try again. Georgia players were in no hurry. The clock hit zero, and the game ended. Auburn people were livid and crying foul. Georgia people just grinned and took it all in.
Nothing is quite as satisfying as beating a bitter rival. Sometimes you almost wish it’s close just to tease them, but then you remember a good butt-kicking is good too.
Auburn has lost 9 in a row in the series and fallen 10 games behind in the long-standing record books. This doesn’t look like the Auburn team to turn things around, and this doesn’t look like the Georgia team to try to break a streak against.
Sometimes crazy things happen in these types of games, but I hope not today…
