Rush defense a key against Bulldogs
AUBURN | No. 24 Auburn will be tasked with stopping the SEC’s top rushing offense this Saturday at No. 5 Georgia.
The Bulldogs average 233.8 rushing yards per game behind junior Elijah Holyfield and sophomore D’Andre Swift, who have split most of the carries this season, combining for 1,296 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“I look at them offensively, they lead our league in rushing. They know how to run the football. They've got a good offensive line with some good backs,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
The Tigers’ chances of pulling off an upset likely depend on their ability to slow down Georgia’s offense at the point of attack. AU is sixth in the conference allowing 134.1 rushing yards per game, but gave up 201 yards to Texas A&M last Saturday and 349 yards at Mississippi State, the SEC’s second-best rushing offense, five weeks ago.
“I feel really good about our defensive line,” Malzahn said. “Give Texas A&M credit, they had a little wrinkle scheme that got us on a cutback twice that was part of it. Our rush defense I feel good about. We are going to have to play well against these guys, there’s no doubt. Like I said earlier, we know them well and they know us well. So, we’ll see what happens.”
The Auburn player that probably knows Georgia the best is senior defensive tackle Dontavius Russell. The Carrollton, Ga., native will be playing the Bulldogs for a fifth and final time. Sixth if you count his redshirt season in 2014.
“It's a different type of mindset they come with — they come at you and run the ball rather than passing like a lot of teams go for now. So it's always a more physical game when you play those type of teams,” Russell said.
“It's been a long time coming to get to this senior season," he added. "Now we're in November. It's been good, but it does feel a little different, knowing that this is the last time.”
Malzahn will be counting on Russell and fellow defensive tackle and Georgia native Derrick Brown to anchor that run defense.
“Any time he and Dontavius Russell are in the middle, you have two big guys that make trouble for offensive linemen getting to that second level, and they do a great job of keeping guys off our linebackers and letting them play,” Malzahn said. “If they get 1-on-1 situations, they are extremely tough to block.”
Kickoff at Sanford Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.