The History Between Georgia and Auburn, The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

A look at the history between the Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers, also known as, The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.

Jonathan Williams | Oct 5, 2022

In this story:

There's a long line of history between Georgia and Auburn, It's called "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" for a reason. The two teams are set to face off for the 127th time in history so what all does this rivalry entail?

This historic rivalry has been all Dawgs as of late. The Bulldogs hold a current five-game win streak over the Tigers and have not lost at home in this series since 2005 when Auburn scraped by with a 31-30 win. Georgia's recent dominance is a big reason why they currently possess an overall record of 62-56-8 all-time in the series. The last time Auburn won consecutive games against Georgia dates all the way back to 2004-2005.

The long line of series matchups has gifted Georgia fans with many memorable games as well. In 2002, quarterback David Greene threw a 19-yard touchdown pass on 4th down with 1:25 left in the game, and helped the Bulldogs claim a division title. There was also "The Blackout Game" when Georgia marched out of the tunnel in their black uniforms and would go on to win 45-20. One of the most electric environments in Sanford Stadium history.

In Kirby Smart's first season as head coach at Georgia, his team pulled off the improbable upset in their home stadium. The unranked Bulldogs knocked off No. 9 Auburn despite not even scoring an offensive touchdown thanks to a Maurice Smith pick-six and a couple of field goals. However, Smart's most memorable win against Auburn as a coach would come just a year later.

During the regular season in 2017, Auburn claimed their first victory against Georgia since 2013 after they upset the No.1 ranked Georgia. Gus Malzahn, who was Auburn's head coach at the time, then gave this infamous quote, "Boy we beat the dog crap out of them didn't we?" Auburn's mountain top moment would be short-lived though.

Just a few weeks later in the SEC Championship game, Georgia would route the Tigers in a 28-7 game behind the three-headed monster of Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D'Andre Swift. Auburn was sent home packing while the Dawgs celebrated their first SEC Championship under Smart and first-ever College Football Playoff berth. The Tigers have not seemed to recover since.

Auburn has lost to Georgia by an average of 17.2 points over the last four matchups, has an overall record of 32-23 since 2017 and fired Malzahn during the 2020 season to then hire current head coach Bryan Harsin. Which hasn't exactly gotten off to the smoothest of starts but that's a story of its own.

This conference rivalry has produced a long lineage of history dating all the way back to 1892 when the two teams met for the very first time. Georgia comes into the 127th game of this series as a 28-point favorite, according to Draftkings. Georgia is in need of gaining some momentum back as they head into the bulk of their SEC schedule, and there is no better way to earn it than by beating one of your biggest rivals in your home stadium.

You May Also Like: