The Auburn Tigers head into Athens this weekend for another edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, and the Georgia Bulldogs are attempting to make it 10 wins in a row in this game.

In Athens, the streak is even longer and Auburn has not left Sanford Stadium with a victory in more than two decades. With Auburn struggling badly on offense this year and star linebacker Xavier Atkins out due to suspension, it’s looking like a potential Dawgs blowout as Georgia is favored by nearly three touchdowns.

With that all being said, college football can be a funny sport sometimes, and while Auburn is coming off a restful bye week, the Bulldogs are coming off anything but that following their tough victory on the road against Alabama.

All too often, favorable bye week matchups and the favorite being a little bit beaten up can all combine to make a game a whole lot closer than anyone expects, or perhaps even what would be the biggest victory for the Tigers in a decade.

Don’t get it twisted though, this is a massive challenge. Georgia is going to try to own the trenches, and after handling a team like the Crimson Tide last week on both the offensive and defensive fronts, they are looking at this middling Auburn offensive line and absolutely salivating.

On paper, this is frankly a terrible matchup for Alex Golesh and the Auburn Tigers, but this sport is not played on paper. After largely playing Georgia very close, even in the dark days of the last several years, Golesh will be looking to make a statement that he is the person to bring this program back to the top.

A shocking upset here would be the way to erase any kind of doubt that he is exactly that.