The Georgia Bulldogs lost their first game of the season in upset fashion at home to the Auburn Tigers. The Dawgs hadn’t lost to Auburn in Sanford Stadium since 2005, and Kirby Smart hadn’t lost to Auburn since 2017.
The final score was 27-24 and Auburn won the game on a last-second field goal. It was a storybook upset finish for first year head coach Alex Golesh.
Let’s hand out grades to Georgia’s offense, defense and special teams from the game. Spoiler alert: They are not good.
Offense: C-
Georgia’s offense totaled almost 500 yards. Turnovers were the issue. Gunner Stockton turned the ball over three times. He threw two picks and fumbled the ball on Georgia’s final drive, leading to Auburn’s game-winning field goal.
Georgia was outrushed by Auburn 192-113 yards. At home, when you are the better team on the fourth and the better team at stopping the run, that number is pretty much unacceptable. The Dawgs ended up with more total yards, but couldn't finish drives due to the turnovers.
Losing the turnover battle by three takeaways almost guarantees you a loss, and that is what happened to Georgia today.
The brightest spot for the Dawgs offense was the 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that Stockton engineered to tie the game at 24 apiece. There was a lot other than that drive that the Dawgs will want to leave on the field.
Defense: C-
Like the offense, some bright spots in the second half prevented this grade from being a failing one. The defense made some huge stops to give the offense the ball back in the fourth quarter, but there were some costly penalties and some costly statistics.
Gabe Harris’ late hit ultimately gave Auburn an easier field goal try to win the game, although the Tigers were moving the football pretty well on the final drive. Both of those things were factored into the poor grade.
Georgia couldn't stop the run. Auburn ran for almost 200 yards, totaling 191 on the ground. That is the most that Georgia has allowed in a single game this season. Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown ran for 115 yards and a score by himself. Smart was very complimentary of him after the game.
Auburn totaled 366 yards on the day, which was more than their average per game this season.
Special Teams: D
This was the worst special teams performance for Georgia by far this season.
Drew Miller punted three times for an average of just 36.3 yards per punt. His longest punt went for only 43 yards. He had had a handful of punts go for over 50 yards this season. He was trying to pin Auburn deep in their own territory a couple of times and just didn’t put enough on the football twice.
Peyton Woodring’s 54-yard field goal late in the second quarter was blocked. If he connected on that kick, Georgia would have gone up 17-14, and Auburn would likely not have had as good a field position as it did on the ensuing drive, where the Tigers made a field goal to take a halftime lead.
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