Both Georgia and Alabama's Playoff hopes are still very much alive as they prepare to take on Auburn for what would be the best wins of the season for both teams.
Gus Malzahn really could care less about the immediate future of the Tigers' biggest rivals, though. He's not focused on playing "spoiler." He knows there's still much to gain — and plenty in the way of postseason positioning on the line — for his own team's 2019 season.
“We have a lot to play for here,” Malzahn said. “That’s what we’re worried about. We’re not worried about them. We’re worried about us. If things turn out good like they did a couple of years ago, we’ve got some really good things ahead of us. That’s the way we’re looking at it.”
Auburn could theoretically make the College Football Playoff if it wins out and has a handful of other dominoes fall.
Its path is most likely the same as Alabama's into the Final Four: win out and hope the Pac-12 and Big 12 champions both have two losses. That would position Auburn — assuming the top 3 is some version of LSU, Clemson and Big Ten champion — to have an argument against some two-loss conference champions as a two-loss team itself. A one-loss team from those conferences — whether it be Oregon, Utah or Oklahoma — would likely get the nod over the Tigers if they win out.
That scenario would serve up Auburn's resume as such: wins over currently ranked No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Oregon — and the Tigers will hope the Ducks win their conference. The losses are to No. 1 LSU and No. 11 Florida. And if it plays out that way, it would mean the Tigers are playing their best ball of the year heading into the postseason.
Obviously, that's a laundry list of hypotheticals, and Auburn certainly isn't thinking that far ahead. That's for the media and fans to speculate over. The Tigers are zeroed in on the two tangible goals in front of them: wins over the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide.
“We got to control what we can control,” junior linebacker K.J. Britt said. “I can’t tell you how Alabama’s gonna finish up. I can’t tell you how Georgia’s gonna finish up. I don’t know what the playoffs — we just got to control what we can control. I promise you our mindset ain’t to mess up somebody’s playoffs; our mindset is just to win the game.
"We let the people do what they got to do after that, but we just got to go and take the last three games and make sure our mindset is just to win the game and just let everybody, you know, let everything unfold how it’s going to unfold.”
Most bowl projections — which assume Auburn drops at least one of its final two in Amen Corner — have the Tigers in Florida for bowl season in either the Citrus or Outback Bowl. But with a 10-2 record, even if it can't cash in on an impressive resume and beat out some conference champs for a Playoff spot, Auburn would likely be the SEC's representative in the Sugar Bowl, which would mark the third New Year's Six appearance for Malzahn's club in the last four seasons.
"Obviously really important, and anytime you can finish strong, it not only helps you for next season, but to finish out the year strong — I mean, we still have a lot left in front of us, a lot to play for," quarterback Bo Nix said. "Anything could happen, so we could find ourselves in a good situation by the end of the year."
------
NOT A MEMBER?
JOIN AUBURNSPORTS.COM TODAY to enjoy around-the-clock content including stories, analysis, videos, podcasts, call-in shows and The Greatest Message Board In The History of The Internet.
