AUBURN | Georgia is first in the SEC allowing 70.6 rushing yards per game and 2.35 rushing yards per carry. The Bulldogs have yet to allow a rushing touchdown.

If No. 18 Auburn is going to have a chance to upset No. 2 Georgia, it’s going to have to find a way to run the ball against that brick wall of a defense.

“They’ve obviously made an emphasis of stopping the run,” said Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. “That’s really important to them. They show that. They’re committed to it. When you play teams like that, you still have to be able to find ways to run the ball, be effective.

“We’re going to be able to do that. We’re going to find ways to do that. That’s what we’re practicing for. So that we get out there, we can run it, we can give the ball to our backs, get yards and make that a part of our gameplan that’s effective for us.”

Auburn enters the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry fourth in the SEC averaging 238.2 rushing yards per game. Jarquez Hunter and Tank Bigsby are both among the conference’s top 10 rushers.

The Tigers used quarterback Bo Nix much more in the running game at LSU — he gained 74 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries — and that’s a trend that could continue Saturday afternoon in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“I think it’s extremely vital,” said Nix of Auburn’s running game. “It’s kind of the most important part of the game that I think will go toward our success if we can run the ball. If we can move the ball consistently on the ground, it will open up other things in our offense, and obviously we just don’t want to become one-dimensional.”

A week ago, Georgia hosted an undefeated Arkansas team that was averaging 261.0 rushing yards per game, which ranked third in the SEC. The Razorbacks managed just 75 rushing yards in a 37-0 loss.

Auburn rushed for 178 yards including 81 in the fourth quarter of its 24-19 win at LSU.

“As a competitor, that’s the challenge that becomes exciting in a games like this when you’re playing somebody that does something well,” said Harsin. “That you’ve got to really have yourself prepared and ready to execute at a high level so you can do the things you know that we need to do that are necessary to help us win.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.