AUBURN | The odds are certainly stacked against Auburn this Saturday at No. 5 Georgia.

The Tigers head into the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry as a 22-point underdog and haven't won at Sanford Stadium since 2005.

“It’s hard enough right now when you feel like your team’s margin of error is so small that every play feels like life or death,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “You want to do everything you can as a staff to give them the best play call for every scenario.

“And that’s very difficult when you’re playing really good teams that have good coaches.”

Auburn wrapped up a five-game homestand with a 2-3 record that included losses to California, Arkansas and No. 21 Oklahoma.

In the 27-21 loss to the Sooners last Saturday, AU blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and finished with a 482-291 edge in total yards and a 26-11 edge in first downs.

“I think we were moving the ball,” said senior Luke Deal. “I think, situationally, we just have to be a little better as a team. I know people oftentimes will look at the coaches. Coaches always take ownership in that too, in our Monday meetings.

“But as players, we have to take ownership too. We need to execute things that we know how to do.”

Auburn is ranked fifth in the SEC in passing offense and leads the nation with 12 plays of 40 or more yards. On the flip-side, AU is 132nd out of 134 teams nationally in turnover margin and 129th in time of possession.

“There are a lot of positives that are not matching up with the results. There are some negatives too,” said Freeze. “We did improve last week. I thought our kids played with incredible effort. But it’s going to take pretty much a mistake-free game to have a chance to go to Athens and upset Georgia.

"We had a really good Tuesday. We’ve had some very physical games. Last week was extremely physical. We’ve got some sore guys but we’ve got to get ready for one of the most physical games on our schedule.”

Kickoff at Sanford Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.