ATHENS- It's time, once again, for the 112th renewal of the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Georgia comes into the game looking to finish the season strong and beat Auburn for the 3rd straight season. Auburn, on the other hand, enters the game looking to get their 6th win and become bowl eligible. Auburn's offense has struggled all year long, adjusting to a new spread offense, and, ultimately fired their offensive coordinator mid-season. On defense, the Tigers have been respectable, holding opponents to 16.3 points-per-game.

Keys to a Georgia Win

1. Avoid special teams mistakes- Last week vs Kentucky proved that special teams can make a huge difference in a football game, as Georgia gave Kentucky's offense excellent field position on several occasions (which led to points). This week the Dawgs face an Auburn team with excellent special teams play. The Tigers rank among the best in the SEC in Kickoff Returns, Punt Returns, Kickoff Coverage and Punting. The Dawgs must avoid the "big play" on special teams to put themselves in good field position on both offense and defense.

2. Restore pride on defense- Word has it that the defense held a "players only" meeting this week to discuss getting back to playing Georgia defense. The Dawgs have given up over 30 points for three straight weeks and the goal is to change that trend starting with Auburn. The Dawgs must follow the lead of Corvey Irvin, Dannell Ellerbe and Rennie Curran and "get back to basics" and "have fun". The Dawgs have a good opportunity to get some defensive swagger back this week against an Auburn offense that has clearly struggled all year (scoring 19.5 points per game).

3. Gain the early momentum and run with it- Auburn has started strong this year, scoring most of their points in the first half, while fading in the second half. However, in a historic rivalry like this one, you never know what might happen. The Dawgs need to gain the early momentum, to take the crowd out of it, and put these birds (...or, War Eagles) back in their nest. Momentum is very important in rivalry games and any bit of early momentum for Auburn could begin to pick up steam against the Dawgs. I look for Auburn to come out with a "nothing to loose" attitude and beating them to the first punch would be huge!!