The No. 5 ranked Georgia Bulldogs bounced back from the program's first regular-season loss in almost four years in a 31-13 victory over Auburn in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
The win marked the Mean Machine's eighth straight win over War Eagle, winning 17 of the last 20 meetings between the two programs.
The Dawgs stayed true to the style we've seen all season, winning the middle eight and dominating the second half.
Carson Beck was sharp on the afternoon, completing 23/29 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
A needed recovery start from the preseason Heisman hopeful, who threw three interceptions, lost a fumble and took a safety in Georgia's loss to Alabama last week.
Trevor Etienne had the best performance by a Georgia running back this season, totaling 16 carries for 88 yards at 5.5 yards per carry with six receptions for 36 yards and two touchdowns.
Explosive plays on the ground were an avenue of the Georgia offense that had been missing. Etienne had two runs of 20+ yards, and freshman Nate Frazier had a 17-yard rip in the fourth quarter.
It is a big vote of confidence for the Dawg's ground attack moving forward.
The Bulldogs' pass catchers had a solid outing:
- Dominic Lovett: 4 REC / 38 YDS / TD
- Dillon Bell: 4 REC / 18 YDS / 1 TD
- Colbie Young: 3 REC / 51 YDS
- London Humphreys: 2 REC / 40 YDS
- Lawson Luckie: 1 REC / 33 YDS
Georgia finished the afternoon with eight plays of 10+ yards and three plays of 20+ yards through the air.
The offense finished the afternoon with 381 total yards, 141 of which were on the ground at 3.8 yards per carry. Auburn could not get off the field on multiple third downs, allowing a 7/13 (54%) conversion rate.
The Georgia defense had a productive outing despite Auburn being inept offensively in most cases. The Bulldogs totaled three sacks, two of which came from redshirt junior DL Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and the other from senior LB Chaz Chambliss.
While it wasn't a dominant outing, the Dawgs held Auburn to 4/12 on third down and 13 total points. The trenches made a statement, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for most of the afternoon.
Auburn's offensive success came from chunk plays and yards after catch; the Tigers ended the afternoon with ten passes of 10+ yards, six passes of 15+ yards, and three passes of 20+ yards.
The Tiger's run game wasn't world-breaking; take away the Jarquez Hunter 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and the offense totaled 99 yards rushing at 3.3 yards per carry.
The best part of the win occurred outside of Athens, with the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide falling to the Vanderbilt Commodores in one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
While the Tide has the tiebreaker over Georgia, the loss keeps Georgia in a tighter hunt for a potential return to the SEC championship.
The Georgia Bulldogs move to 4-1 (2-1) on the season with the win over Auburn. The Mean Machine gets a pseudo-bye week on October 12th versus Mississippi State at home in Athens before its road matchup with the Texas Longhorns on October 19th.