No. 9 Auburn at No. 15 Georgia (-2.5) 7:15 pm ESPN
Daniel: Georgia is the bane of my existence in picking this year. I have no idea what I’m going to get from them from week to week. After laying an egg against Florida, they responded well in a dominant win at Kentucky last week. Now throw a well-rested, but perhaps rusty, Todd Gurley into the equation for UGA and it’ll be very interesting. I’m not sure either defense can get consistent stops in this one. I’ve been pretty high on UGA since the preseason and I’ll say all the pieces come together for the Bulldogs in this one, giving the SEC East a rare signature win this season and officially knocking Auburn out of contention. Winner: Georgia 38-35
Houston: The return of Todd Gurley will turn this game into a media circus and the home crowd in Athens will be at a fever pitch as they welcome their star player back to the field. Add that to the revenge factor for the Bulldogs after last year’s “Prayer at Jordan-Hare” and I think that the environment will make things very tough on Auburn this Saturday night. Auburn looked fundamentally weak against Texas A&M last week – a team that they were favored to beat by 17.5 points – and lost 41-38. You have to wonder where their confidence is at this point now that the ‘team of destiny’ moniker has apparently worn off. My guess is that Gurley, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and the environment in Athens will be too much for the Tigers in this one. Winner: UGA 34-27
Reed: I have zero idea which team will show up for this game – Auburn and Georgia have been maddeningly inconsistent. Both teams forgot how to tackle in inexplicable losses to Texas A&M and Florida, yet they’re both still alive for a trip to Atlanta. Chubb and Gurley will run all over the Tigers, but Auburn has a clear coaching edge in this one. I don’t see the Tigers losing two straight under Gus. They’ll show up and cause a ton of problems for Georgia’s inconsistent defense. Auburn has been OK against the run this year and should slow Gurley and Co. just enough to win a close shootout. Winner: Tigers 38-31
Seth: It’s the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry! I hate UGA and I don’t particularly care for Auburn (even though I like Malzahn a lot), but this is appointment television. Always hotly contested and always entertaining with some wild finished, the 2014 edition of this game should not disappoint. AU comes into the game reeling from a loss to a mediocre A&M football team while UGA is riding high and playing with a purpose after taking out many frustrations on UK last week. Oh yeah, they also get back one of the best running backs I have ever seen in Todd Gurly. I’m not sure if this will be enough to overcome a mad, fast AU offense and a defense with something to prove. The Bulldogs’ defense puts up a girly performance against former Dawg Nick Marshall and the Auburn Tigers. Tigers with the upset. Winner: Tigers 42-38
