How and what to watch for Georgia vs. Auburn

A pair of top-10 teams will match up on the field when the No. 7 Auburn Tigers travel to play the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs in a big-time SEC showdown on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Auburn is coming off a 29-13 win over Kentucky in its season opener. As is typical with any Auburn football games, this one featured plenty of strange moments, but the Tigers pulled away in the second half. Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and completed 16 of 27 passes for 233 yards. He also led the Tigers in rushing with 34 yards on five rushing attempts. Seth Williams appears ready for an incredible season. He caught a pair of touchdowns and caught six balls for 112 yards.

As for Georgia, the Bulldogs beat Arkansas 37-10, but the score is a bit deceiving because the Razorbacks were winning this game 10-5 at the halfway point of the third quarter. In the final quarter and a half, Georgia scored 32 unanswered points. Jamie Newman opted out, and JT Daniels wasn’t cleared to play from an injury, so Georgia utilized Stetson Bennett and D’Wan Mathis at quarterback. Mathis completed 8 of 17 passes for 55 yards and one interception. Bennett completed 20 of 29 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels has been cleared to play this weekend, but Kirby Smart has yet to announce a starter for the game.

Georgia is on a three-game winning streak in this series and beat Auburn 21-14 in Auburn, Alabama in 2019.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

Saturday’s game will start at 7:30 p.m. ET at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. This game will appear on ESPN.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Auburn (+6.5) vs. Georgia
Point Total: O/U 45 (-110)
Money line: Auburn (+200), Georgia (-250)

• Auburn is 11-4 against the spread in its last 15 games.
• The total went under in five of Auburn’s last seven games.
• The total went under in nine of Georgia’s last 10 games.
• Georgia is 6-1 against the spread in its last seven games against Auburn.

The Best Bet

Georgia should be able to control Auburn’s running game, which wasn’t very effective against Kentucky. If the Bulldogs do that, they put the ball in Nix’s hands more often, and the big question for him is how he can play in big games. Throughout his freshman season, Nix wasn’t particularly good against Auburn’s best competition. On the other side, we have no idea what to expect from the Georgia quarterback position. Given all these factors, let’s get after the under and root against points for three-plus hours.

Pick: Under 45

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