AUBURN | The defense kept Auburn in the game against No. 2 Georgia in the first half despite a couple of special teams miscues.

In the second half, it fell apart.

The Bulldogs rolled up 357 total yards and four of their six rushing touchdowns after the break in a 42-10 blowout win Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

“A little bit,” said AU coach Bryan Harsin of the defense tiring in the second half. “I thought our defense has played well -- they have all season long in a lot of ways. And then it's just not enough. At some point, you have to put some points on the board; you've got to even the game out, keep it close and give some hope.

“Our guys on defense, a little bit -- they started to run the ball, and that was a factor in the game. That's what you don't want to let happen.”

The Tigers held Georgia to just 143 total yards in the first half but gave up two touchdowns on short fields.

The Bulldogs drove 36 yards for a 7-0 lead after Bryan Harsin elected to go for a fake punt on 4th and 6 at the 34-yard line. Tight end John Samuel Shenker took the snap but was dropped at the 36 after Jalil Irvin missed a block on Nolan Smith.

AU went 3-and-out on its next drive and Ladd McConkey returned a punt 38 yards to the AU 31-yard line to set up another touchdown drive and a 14-0 deficit at halftime.

"I don’t know exactly what happened; obviously, there was a 1-on-1 somewhere that we didn’t win, but absolutely to try to create a spark to continue the drive," said Harsin. "We knew tonight was going to be a challenge offensively with their defense, so any positive yards we could get and extension of drives, that was a chance for us to do that, in that field position as well.

"They weren’t going to be in safe; they were going to give us a chance with that look, and they did give us the look. They out-executed us in that moment right there, but overall I thought we had a good design for that opportunity."

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett accounted for 247 of the 357 yards. He completed 15 of 19 passes for 183 yards and had a 64-yard touchdown run.

UGA freshman running back Branson Robinson rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in the second half.

In the last nine games against Power 5 teams, Auburn has been out-scored 132-31 in the second half.

"I wish I had the answer for that. Alright? I really do. If I did, we would fix those things," said Harsin. "I think part of the struggle is you're playing good teams. Part of the struggles are some self-inflicted things that we've done to ourselves. And the key to having a successful game is being consistent throughout the game, and whether at the end of it, the score is in your favor or not, you want to have some type of consistency. And I think that's the biggest challenge for us right now. "

Auburn, 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the SEC, plays at No. 9 Ole Miss next Saturday. Kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.