Rob Pate: Good time to play Georgia
Columns written here and other places in the aftermath of the A&M game have called for calm, called for reason, called for a tempering of the ire within. Seemingly two camps are out there divided by generations. Older generations of Auburn people call for proper perspective, allegiance through thick and thin, reverential realism reside in one camp. Younger generations of Auburn people call for impassioned play, expecting personnel advancement and development, soured by failing to achieve the lofty expectations a title run requires sit in their camp. Most of us likely meander someplace between the two, with roots firmly entrenched in the days of yesteryear yet bellies full of the fruit produced from the days of Pat Dye to the current, therefore expectantly ever ready to feed.
Players know nothing of this type of mindset. Most of these guys couldn't identify Pat Dye if he walked into the locker room, not out of irreverence but out of youth. Most know little about longstanding Auburn football tradition. Most come to Auburn because they feel a since of belonging, they fit the scheme played, they trust the coaching staff in place. Most don't enter steeped with experiences and memories of Auburn years past. Even so, all leave Auburn better men, deeply entrenched in its aura, profoundly impacted by its people, eternally grateful for the opportunity to represent the logo, and certainly acutely cognizant of the importance of beating its rivals. Nothing rallies Auburn University like defeating a time-honored rival and none is more traditional than Auburn-Georgia.
In 1997, my freshman year at Auburn, we were bludgeoned by an inferior Mississippi State team 20-0 inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, relinquishing control of our title destiny. Our next game was on the road in Athens to take on a Robert Edwards, Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, Mike Bobo-led team ranked No. 7 in the country. As a freshman, my thoughts were not good ones. Georgia was obviously a much more talented team than the Mississippi State squad that had throttled us. How could we beat UGA in Sanford Stadium, a Georgia team that had beaten State 47-0?
What I found out was the meaning of this game to the many teammates hailing from the Peach State as well as the older teammates that had fought in the battles prior to my arrival. This game took on a significance I had not seen. The feeling was palpable; the preparation intense, the importance magnified by the tears welling up within the eyes of teammates wanting to win so badly the emotion was overcoming. I only thought I knew what Auburn-Georgia meant. Not until Takeo Spikes pierces a hole through your heart with laser-focused eyes filled with tears and rage and hate and respect and hunger all personified in one Georgia Tiger does the significance of this game take on its true form.
That is why Georgia comes at just the right time for not only these Tigers but all Tigers. There are infinitely more Auburn players with Georgia roots than Georgia players with Auburn pedigrees. This game means more to Auburn players. Yes, it's big for Georgia, its players and fan base, but in the locker room it's the Auburn players that want this game more, viewing it as a game taking on greater significance. For the rest of us that will not attempt to tackle the formidable duo of Todd Gurley or Nick Chubb or to tame the crowd in Athens by running the zone read to perfection as Nick Marshall will attempt, this game brings those two camps of generational disparate Auburn fans together like little else can after an inexplicable loss.
Our current roster is filled with young men, I'm sure, of this exact mindset. Just check the roster: Montravius Adams (Dooly Co.), Jonathan Jones (Carrollton), Quan Bray (LaGrange), Jonathon Mincy (Decatur), Nick Marshall (Wilcox Co.), Ben Bradley (Norcross), C.J. Uzomah (Suwanee), Jeff Whitaker (Warner Robbins), Gabe Wright (Columbus). All are significant contributors on this football team. Each enters this game on fire to prove a point in many aspects.
They will play for family members living in the state of Georgia who live every day hearing about the Bulldogs. They play for validation in their decision to leave the state to become Auburn men. They play with pride in the blue jersey, the Auburn logo adorning their helmet thinking of the many times they've seen the Georgia logo as a kid knowing how much this game means to the people of their hometowns. They play to silence the many high school friends that still goad and ridicule them about not being a "Dawg!"
These are the games these guys will remember when they're old men. Going into College Station, Baton Rouge, beating the Mississippi schools, those thrills fade. Playing your home state university and walking off the field a winner,-that you never, ever forget. It's a treasure.
And for the rest of, the guys not hailing from Georgia, we also recognize and appreciate the opportunity to play in this classic. The significance, the pageantry, the tradition of this rivalry is not lost on any player as he walks through the tunnel and begins his jaunt onto the playing surface of either Sanford or Jordan-Hare Stadiums. The crowds are electric. The passion on the faces of those you encounter at Tiger Walk, those hanging over the rails in the stadium, the fury of shakers and roar of the crowd, those things don't go unnoticed by the player. It fuels him. It prepares him for what's at stake. It sends shivers down his spine, truly.
The matchup is one I like. It will be a strength versus strength test of which Auburn has answered well this season. Teams that make their living running the football have found it a tough go against an Auburn front stingy against the run. Auburn has not faced the talent at tailback that Georgia will unleash, but I still prefer matching our rushing defense against a run heavy offense over our struggling pass defense against a team that slings it all over the field. Defense boils down to an internal drive, a demeanor of unbridled desire to exert your will to get off of the football field. Playing Georgia will light the fire for a group whose fire has dwindled lately.
When I look at a game to prognosticate an outcome I compare quarterbacks, running game, defensive dominance, and coaching. I would take Nick Marshall over any quarterback in college football. Our running game is tops in the conference and shows no signs of slowing, however Georgia's is a very close second and dynamic as well. Defenses are similar with UGA better in total and scoring defense whereas Auburn leads in the critical red zone. Neither play stellar, lockdown defense. I don't know enough about the Georgia coaching staff to compare the two but the Auburn staff is rarely outmatched.
I see this game as a race to forty. The Auburn defense needs to do just enough to allow the Auburn offense to not feel like it has to score every time it possesses the ball. I think it will be back and forth. I think at points both squads will feel out of it. The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins.
Auburn 41, Georgia 38
