Top-ranked Bulldogs To Be Tested At No. 10 Auburn

November in the SEC is a showcase, and there's nothing bigger this weekend than No. 1 Georgia heading to The Plains to take on 10th-ranked Auburn.

The Bulldogs (9-0, 6-0) have already clinched the SEC East, its first divisional title since 2012, while Auburn (7-2, 5-1) has a chance to take the SEC West crown and, maybe, nab a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers have Alabama in a few weeks, and a win there and then a win in the SEC title game against Georgia could make Auburn the first ever two-loss team in the playoffs.

But Auburn cannot get ahead of itself.

Auburn's Kerryon Johnson is one of America's best running backs (Gridiron Now)

"I think you have to embrace the fact that you are playing the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the country on your home field," Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. "Our goal is to win the SEC championship, and it has been since day one. This is the next step. It is a great opportunity for us, so it is a big game. We are not looking any farther ahead than Saturday, but this is a game we have been looking forward to, and it is here. There is a lot on the line. It is a good one."

Georgia, which is top five nationally in total defense and scoring defense, faces its biggest challenge to date -- a victory at Notre Dame notwithstanding. The Bulldogs more than doubled Auburn's yardage in last year's contest, but won just 13-7 and failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Auburn has lost two of the last three meetings at home, but Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart doesn't think that will make any difference at all.

"It's the same challenge it is at most SEC place, just a little bit louder. They have a good team," Smart said. "The better the team is, the tougher the place to play is. their fans get loud, get rowdy -- they are there pregame until the end and there have been some really loud moments playing in that stadium. I would not expect it to be any different on Saturday."

Auburn's only losses to date are to Clemson and LSU, the latter seeing the Tigers blow a 20-0 lead before falling 27-23. Since that game Auburn has exploded offensively, putting up 94 points and over 1,000 yards in wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M.

The Tigers want to get it done on the ground, with Kerryon Johnson the chief weapon. The junior has nearly 900 yards and has scored 15 touchdowns in seven games, and provides a bullish yet surprisingly nimble weapon in the backfield. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham has also improved his play, completing 72 percent of his throws in the last two contests.

Smart believes that if the Bulldogs can stop Johnson, they are in good position to win the game.

"At the end of the day he can go where he wants to with the ball," Smart said of Kerryon Johnson. "He has great speed. He gets a lot out of his runs. Last year against us he bounced out, he broke out and does a good job doing that. They know the defenses we are going to play. Gus has seen them for seven or eight years, it seems. we know the plays they are going to run. They are not going to reinvent the wheel. We have to go out there and play blocks, tackle the man with the ball and not give up big plays."

Georgia has been good in that aspect all season, allowing just 3.06 yards per rush and four touchdowns on the ground and just 21 runs of 10-19 yards in 2017 in 262 rush attempts.

Auburn has athletes, but thinking you can make plays and actually doing it, especially against a defense as lethal as Georgia's has been this year, is another story.

"You have to figure out ways to do it (big plays)," Malzahn said. "that's the challenge. When they can stop the run and still play two safeties, it's tough. You have to be balanced. The more talented a defensive team is, the more important it is to be balanced."

Like Auburn, Georgia will want to control the clock with its ground game. The Bulldogs are eighth in the country running the ball, and though Nick Chubb and Sony Michel get the headlines, Georgia is four deep in the backfield.

Georgia QB Jake Fromm has been steady as a freshman (Online Athens)

Auburn is nearly as grudging on the ground defensively as Georgia, allowing 3.34 yards per carry, so Georgia may need to pass a little more than it is accustomed to. That means more of the onus is on freshman quarterback Jake Fromm, who thus far has been superb, but hasn't been asked to win a game.

Fromm has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes in Georgia's last three games, with five touchdowns and just two interceptions. He's third in the country in passing efficiency and doesn't mind taking shots downfield, averaging 9.7 yards per attempt.

The last two times Auburn defeated Georgia -- 2010 and 2013 -- it played for the national championship. The last three seasons have seen no more than eight victories, so this game could prove to be redemptive for the Tigers. 

 Malzahn recalls how close his team was last year, and would love to replace that memory.

"Last year was an extremely tough loss -- the fact they won the game and didn't score an offensive touchdown," Malzahn said. "This is one we have been waiting on. I know our players and coaches are excited about it because we are playing one of the best teams on our home field."

This is just the fourth road contest of the season for Georgia, and first since an early October pasting of Vanderbilt.

The victory over Notre Dame was great, but also happened before we knew what the Irish really was.

This one will prove if the Bulldogs are for real.

"They get loud in there and do a really good job of creating an environment," Smart said. "They feed off of that. So the challenges are in front of us. We will find out a lot about this team playing on the road."

Irish, Bulldogs Seek Legitimacy As Showdown Looms

Brandon Wimbush gives Notre Dame a dual threat at quarterback

 The last (and only) time Notre Dame and Georgia faced off in a football game, Ronald Reagan was president, Charles and Diana has just gotten married and Raiders of the Lost Ark was riding high at the box office.

 The Bulldogs were coming off of the 1980 national championship (beating the Irish in the Sugar Bowl), and Notre Dame was beginning one of its darkest eras, a five year stretch with Gerry Faust as head coach. He would go 30-26-1, and amass the lowest winning percentage of any ND coach who spent at least five years in charge. Both programs were relevant back then, though their fan bases will tell you that both are still relevant today -- which is debatable.

 What isn't debatable is that this is an intriguing contest between two ranked teams, currently a bit under the radar but with talent and expectations to make an ascent in the rankings.

 Georgia coach Kirby Smart likes the attention the game brings, though he admitted to not seeing very much of the Irish in the last couple of seasons.

 "I think these kinds of games in college football are really cool because you get to go play somebody that you don't normally play," Smart said. "It's just weird for me because you're familiar with your conference players."

 Both squads have new quarterbacks, the Irish by plan and the Bulldogs by injury.

 Notre Dame's Brandon Wimbush was a standout in the Irish victory over Temple, throwing for 184 and two touchdowns and rushing for 106 yards and another score. While Irish coach Brian Kelly doesn't necessarily look for dual threat quarterbacks, he said he does like the idea of having a player who can put pressure on a defense a variety of ways.

 Smart noticed Wimbush's performances and knows that his defense will have to be on point to slow him down.

 "Brandon Wimbush is an explosive athlete," Smart said. "He looks as fast as any player on their team. They do a very good job of the RPO system. They run downhill at you, and they are as good looking an offensive line as you will ever play."

 Wimbush wasn't the only player causing headaches against Temple, though.

 Running back Josh Adams exploded for 161 yards and two scores, and 6-5 wideout Equanimeous St. Brown had four grabs for 80 yards and a touchdown. He is a freakish athlete, one who gives the 24th-ranked Irish a deep threat and gives opposing defenses headaches.

 Notre Dame notched 11 tackles for loss against the Owls, and got some push from its defensive line, which is a change from years past. Mike Elko has changed the attitude and technique of the front, and they are now more aggressive at firing off the ball instead of merely occupying blockers and allowing the linebackers to clean things up.

 Kelly knows the Irish play a grueling schedule every season, but having not faced Georgia before personally, and the school only playing them once, makes for an exciting evening.

 "This the great part about being an independent football team in that you get these kinds of games, getting a chance to play against a team that's regarded as one of the very best in the SEC," Kelly said. "So our guys are excited about the challenge and looking forward to Saturday night."

 Kelly would love for his team to control the line of scrimmage the way it did against Temple, but knows that could be a tougher task as No. 15 Georgia's athletes are a notch or two above what the Owls have. But it isn't just the talent that Kelly notices.

"They like to play the four I defense, which causes some problems with your schemes and combinations," Kelly said. "Two gap noses. They like to move the fronts around, which causes some problems up front. So it frees up linebackers to run and hit. So what it is about his defense is that when you have four linebackers, you've got guys running off the edges. They can get to you off the edge as well as moving the front around. When you're in three down you can easily play three down and four down from week to week. There is that ability to morph into what you want to be. That in itself allows him a lot of creativity."

Georgia, which had an easy time in a win over Appalachian State, may need to lean on that defense due to an injury suffered by incumbent quarterback Jacob Eason. He will not go in this game, which means heralded freshman Jake Fromm will make his first collegiate start, in one of the most hallowed of all playing fields. It will be a step up from the opener, where he went 10 of 15 for 143 yards and a touchdown, and looked poised and mature leading the offense to three first-half touchdowns.

Georgia freshman Jake Fromm will be under the microscope against Notre Dame

 While he possesses a big arm, Fromm may not be asked to do too much.

 And why would he, when he has possibly the best 1-2 backfield punch in America?

 "Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, they are elite backs," Kelly said. "I mean, you're going to see two guys that will be NFL players and have great careers. So two elite backs."

 Chubb had 96 and two touchdowns and Michel added 87 yards and a score of his own.

 Georgia is talented but young, and that would normally be a concern for Smart, especially in an environment such as Notre Dame Stadium. But kids today are cut from a different cloth, and aren't usually flustered by big moments.

 "Kids nowadays are different," Smart said. "If it was my freshman year and we were going there I think it would have been more intimidating. To be honest with you, these kids know Notre Dame's players. A long time ago you didn't know Notre Dame's players unless you saw them on TV because you didn't get recruited with them. These kids have gone to all-star games with those guys. They know those players.

 "Certainly, when you go on the road the environment changes. You have to try to simulate that environment, make sure they are calm and that they play well."

 The Irish are looking for their third 2-0 start in the last five seasons, and have won 40 games at home in Kelly's tenure, including 12 the last three seasons.

 Georgia has been a good road team in recent seasons, compiling an 18-7 record away from home since 2011. The Bulldogs have been money in non-conference games, going 13-2 the last three seasons, with wins over North Carolina and Clemson.

 Fans may not be ready to embrace either team as legitimate yet, simply because it's early in the season and there have been too many disappointments to truly get hopes up. Kelly plays off the must-win talk, preferring to focus on his team improving and showing that last year's 4-8 mark was an aberration.

 Smart realizes what's at stake for his team, that people might actually buy in if the Bulldogs come away with a victory. And though his memories of Notre Dame aren't many, he knows that a win over the Irish will be a feather for the program.

 "My memories of Notre Dame are more Rocket Ismail, Tim Brown (who was, interestingly enough, recruited by Faust), around that time," Smart said. "I was really too young to remember the national championship game, and I was not actually in the state of Georgia yet. It's a special place, I know that. It's just a resume that speaks for itself."