When it comes to the things that make college football so special, the rivalries sit right at the top of the list. The history of bitter hatred and electric moments bring the most out of college fanbases and leads to incredible gameday atmospheres. This week, Auburn plays host to Georgia, as the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” is set to take the stage. Jordan Hare is going to be buzzing come Saturday night, as the Tigers look to bounce back from two tough road losses, while the Bulldogs look to survive on the road and keep themselves firmly in the SEC race. It’s an intriguing matchup, but let’s take a look at some of the history that serves as the foundation for this game.
Tale of the Tape
The birth of this rivalry goes all the way back to 1892, when Auburn won the inaugural matchup 10-0. The two schools have faced off all but five years since, pausing only in 1893, 1897, 1917-18 due to World War I, and 1943 due to World War II. In the 129 total matchups, Georgia leads the series 65-56-8 and currently holds a win streak of 8 straight games. Up until 1959, the game had been played in Atlanta, Macon, Savannah, and Columbus on the Georgia side of the border, as well as Montgomery on the Alabama side, at which point they began alternating between the Athens and Auburn campuses, as they do today.
The Start of “War Eagle”?
There are several different explanations for how Auburn’s “War Eagle” battle cry began, but my favorite legend comes from the very first game of the Auburn-Georgia rivalry. As the story goes, there was an Alabama soldier in the Civil War that rescued a wounded eagle on the battlefield and nursed it back to health, keeping it as a pet well past the war. The soldier was a former Auburn student, and years later he attended the game against Georgia in 1892 with the eagle in tow. The eagle broke free during the game and flew around the field and coincided with an Auburn touchdown and win. “War Eagle” became the cheer of the day and lived on for years to come. As legend has it, after the win, the eagle fell to the ground and died on the spot.
Whether you choose to believe this explanation or not, I think it’s a nice ode to the history of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and how it’s shaped both of these programs for over a century.
Memorable Moments in Recent History
This rivalry has given us some crazy games in moments over the years, but here are just a few that have happened in recent years:
Top 10 Matchup in 2004
The game in 2004 featured a #8 ranked Georgia team travelling to Auburn to face the #3 ranked Tigers. To that point, it was only the third top ten matchup in the rivalry’s history, and Auburn was on the path to the SEC championship and possibly a national championship, making it a massive November conference game. Cadillac Williams ran for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Ronnie Brown added 51 yards rushing, 88 yards receiving, and a touchdown on the way to a 24-6 win. Auburn went on to win the SEC, but were left out of the national championship and won the Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech.
The Prayer at Jordan-Hare
The game that provided the most iconic moment of this rivalry (at least for Auburn fans) started as a top 25 matchup in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn jumped out to a 27-10 lead at halftime but slowly watched that lead slip away in the fourth quarter. Georgia scored three touchdowns in less than eight minutes, taking the lead on an Aaron Murray rushing touchdown with just two minutes left. On 4th & 18 at their own 27, it looked like the game was over. But Nick Marshall heaved a deep ball that was tipped up by a Georgia defensive back and fell into the arms of Ricardo Louis, who raced it to the endzone for the game winning touchdown. That play saved the Tigers’ season, and they went on to win the SEC championship, followed by a loss in the national championship to Florida State. That play lives as Auburn royalty, right up there with the Kick Six (which happened just a few weeks later).
2017 SEC Championship
The rivalry was renewed for a second time in 2017, after the regular season top 10 matchup saw Auburn run away with a 40-17 final score. The two teams met in the SEC championship, and things did not go the same way. Auburn scored the first touchdown of the game, but Georgia dominated the rest of the sixty minutes. The three-headed monster of D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel took care of the business on the ground, and two passing touchdowns by Jake Fromm led the Bulldogs to a 28-7 win, clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Keys to this Week’s Matchup
The 2025 edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry brings a lot of intrigue, as Auburn looks to bounce back from two one-score losses against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, in which the offense did not do much to help them out. On the other side, Georgia heads into a hostile environment with hopes of keeping their conference record at one loss. Based on Auburn’s offensive woes, the favor seems to be on Georgia’s side, although the point spread is still tight. Here are my three keys to the game for Auburn to be able to come out with a win:
- Be better on first down. There was a lot of talk about Auburn’s third down efficiency in the last few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, it was really bad, and it needs to improve, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. Their average third down distance against A&M was over 10 yards, and their average distance on the season is around 8. You know what that tells me? The offense is not doing a good enough job on first down of getting ahead of the sticks to make the second and third downs manageable. Nobody is going to be very efficient when every third down is 10+ yards. They need to figure out how to get success on early downs, which leads me to the next key.
- Get the running backs involved. The RBs had 8 combined carries against Texas A&M, which is not going to get the job done. The running game in general needs to get going, and it’ll inevitably involve Jackson Arnold, but for this offense to have any sort of balance they need to get Jeremiah Cobb and Damari Alston some touches. Establishing the running game will not only open up some space for their elite receivers, but if they can do it effectively, it’ll take some of the pressure off the offensive line and Jackson Arnold.
- Force turnovers. The Auburn defense has been awesome so far, especially against the run, but it has not forced a ton of turnovers. Considering the state of the offense, the Tigers need to create havoc and force some Georgia turnovers to get extra possessions and hopefully favorable field position. They’ll have the home crowd advantage, but I think in order to have a chance to win they’ll need to be on the plus side of the turnover battle.
