Sneak peek: Georgia
AUBURN | Year two of the Bryan Harsin era gets underway with a couple of warmup games before a Big Ten opponent kicks off three crucial home contests. Four of the final seven games are on the road including trips to Georgia and Alabama.
Today, we continue an early look at Auburn’s 2022 schedule with the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and the Tigers’ first road game of the season.
WHO: Georgia (14-1 last season, 8-0 SEC)
WHEN: Oct. 8, TBD
WHERE: Sanford Stadium (92,746)
SERIES: Georgia leads 62-56-8
WHAT’S NEW: Georgia has had a number of staff changes following the national championship. Will Muschamp (safeties) and Glenn Schumann (inside linebackers) will serve as co-defensive coordinators. Kirby Smart also hired Chidera Uzo-Diribe as outside linebackers coach, Fran Brown as secondary coach, Stacy Searels as offensive line coach, Bryan McClendon as wide receivers coach and former Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo as an offensive analyst. UGA hasn’t added any players from the transfer portal but did sign the nation’s No. 3 overall class in 2022 including 5-star defensive tackle Keithian Alexander, 5-star defensive ends Marvin Jones Jr. and Mikel Williams and 5-star defensive back Jaheim Singletary
WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Brock Bowers had an incredible freshman season catching 56 passes for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns, all school records for a tight end. He was also UGA’s leading receiver. He was a first-team All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year. His 15-yard touchdown catch in the championship game gave Georgia a 26-18 lead over Alabama with 3:33 left in the fourth quarter.
WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Outside linebacker Nolan Smith returns for his senior season after totaling 56 tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks in 14 games last year. He had 27 quarterback hurries and led UGA with three forced fumbles. In UGA’s two playoff wins over Michigan and Alabama, Smith combined for 15 tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, a forced fumble and 12 quarterback hurries.
OUTLOOK: Quarterback Stetson Bennett is back for his seventh season of college football and sixth at Georgia after completing 64.5 percent of his passes for 2,862 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year. He’ll have the luxury of playing behind an offensive line that returns three starter and a bunch of talented depth and handing off to several talented tailbacks including Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton. UGA probably has the nation’s best group of tight ends and a pretty experienced group of receivers led by Adonai Mitchell. Defensively, UGA must replace a number of NFL Draft picks but does return three starters and a number of talented backups including defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is a top prospect for the 2023 draft. Smith is back at linebacker along with cornerback Kelee Ringo and safety Christopher Smith. UGA has recruited extremely well on defense and so expect a very talented group that improves as the season goes forward. UGA returns kicker Jack Podlesny but must find a new punter.
There was a time when Auburn would play some of its best football in Athens, winning 12 of 15 games from 1977-2005. It’s been all downhill since, losing the last seven games in Sanford Stadium by an average margin of 20.1 points. This will be AU’s toughest test of the first half of the season by far and it would likely take one of AU’s all-time biggest upsets to come out of Athens with a win.
MORE SNEAK PEEKS:
Sept. 3 Mercer
Sept. 10 San Jose State
Sept. 17 Penn State
Sept. 24 Missouri
Oct. 1 LSU