By: Connor Flanders
On Saturday, fans at Sanford Stadium were stunned as their Bulldogs fell to Auburn, 27-24. The loss was the Dawgs’ first to an unranked opponent since 2019, when they fell to South Carolina in overtime. The only other time they lost to an unranked team while ranked No. 1 on the AP Poll was in 1942, also against Auburn.
The defining moment came with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton ran up the middle and fumbled the ball after colliding with offensive lineman Drew Bobo. Auburn then drove into field goal range, and Alex McPherson sent the winning kick through the uprights. Stockton threw two interceptions earlier in the game as well, but Georgia’s costly mistakes aren’t entirely on Stockton.
During two of Auburn’s scoring drives, including the game-winning drive, Georgia committed unnecessary 15-yard penalties. Early in the second, with the Dawgs up 14-7 a Khamari Brooks personal foul on Auburn’s Byrum Brown turned what would’ve been an Auburn 3 & 10 at midfield into a first down in Georgia territory. Auburn then tied the game at 14. On the final drive, Gabe Harris Jr. roughed Brown, turning the ensuing field goal into a near-formality.
“Those are silly, silly penalties.” Head Coach Kirby Smart said about Harris roughing the passer and an illegal formation violation for 12 men on the field that occurred earlier in the game.
Coach Smart also clarified that Gunner Stockton was taken out on the first drive because of a shoulder stinger and that “They [team medical staff] checked him out [for a concussion] and brought him [Stockton] back in, said he was good.”
For Georgia’s one-and-only field goal attempt, Gunner Stockton was rushed onto the field with just seven seconds left in the play clock. It resulted in a rushed kick from Peyton Woodring that Auburn blocked. Smart’s decision not to use a timeout to prevent that sequence was questionable in a game decided by just three points.
Despite five sacks from the pass rush, the Georgia defense couldn’t effectively slow down the Auburn rushing attack. They allowed the Tigers to reach season highs in rushing, both in total and per-attempt, against Power 4 competition. Byrum Brown passed his own season high in rushing midway through the 3rd quarter and ended with 115 yards. On all but one play, when Auburn elected to run Brown with five or fewer yards to the marker, the Tigers converted.
Brown’s ability to use his legs against the Georgia defense evoked memories of the past season, when Riley Leonard and Trinidad Chambliss’s legs played a large part in knocking the Dawgs out of the College Football Playoffs. With games against the aforementioned Chambliss and SEC quarterback rushing leader LaNorris Sellers looming in November, Georgia must learn from the failings against Brown and the Tigers.
Despite the return of star running back Nate Frazier Jr., Georgia couldn’t establish its running attack just one week after a 206-yard effort against Alabama. The team’s 113 rushing yards mark a season low for the Bulldogs. Through the air however, Georgia threw for a season high of 327, including 55 from backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi, who relieved an injured Stockton for a brief stint on the first drive of the game.
The Dawgs outperformed the Tigers on total offense and most other statistics; however, preventable mistakes on all three sides of the ball led to the Bulldogs’ first loss of the season.
After an open date, the Georgia Bulldogs will face the rival Florida Gators in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 31st. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM EST.
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