Georgia Bulldogs vs Auburn Tigers Match Player Stats On Nov 11, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 11, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. -- There will be a new No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings after No. 10 Auburn rolled past top-ranked Georgia 40-17 on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Bulldogs' loss was certainly Auburn's gain.

Despite two losses, the Tigers (8-2, 6-1 SEC) remain alive for a playoff spot of their own, assuming of course Auburn can win its final two regular-season games, including Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and beat Georgia (9-1, 6-1) again in the SEC championship.

The Bulldogs are by no means out, but must beat Kentucky, Georgia Tech and win the SEC title game at Mercedes Benz-Stadium to do so.

One thing is for sure, Georgia will have to play much better than it did against the Tigers, who dominated the game in most every way possible.

Quarterback Jarrett Stidham and running back Kerryon Johnson accounted for most of the damage. Stidham (16 of 23, 214 yards) passed for three scores and rushed for another while Johnson kept the chains moving by rushing 32 times for 167 yards and converting a 55-yard screen pass into a touchdown for Auburn's final points.

Daniel Carlson chipped in with a quartet of field goals.

Auburn's defense deserved a ton of credit as well. The Tigers held Georgia's running game -- which averaged 279.3 yards coming in -- to a mere 46 yards and harassed quarterback Jake Fromm into a 13-of-28 afternoon for 184 yards, sacking the freshman four times.

Georgia's only other scores came on a 47-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Fromm to Riley Ridley, who earlier dropped a sure touchdown pass in second quarter.

Mistakes didn't help Georgia's cause, although they certainly didn't result in the final outcome.

Trailing 16-7 at half, the Bulldogs stopped Auburn and forced a punt on the first possession of the third, only to have Mecole Hardman muff the punt at the Bulldog 23. Three plays later, Stidham ran in from the 7 for a 23-7 lead before throwing a 32-yard pass to Ryan Davis put the game out of reach.

Georgia's best offensive posession turned out to be its first. The Bulldogs drove 70 yards on just eight plays, capped off by a 1-yard run by Nick Chubb out of a direct snap.

Otherwise, it was all Auburn, which used field goals of 54, 37 and 30 yards by Carlson, followed by a 42-yard scoring pass to Darius Slayton for a 16-7 halftime lead.

NOTES: Auburn K Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal in the first quarter was his fourth from 50-plus this year. ... Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship's missed 42-yarder at the end of the second quarter was just his second in 13 attempts. ... Tigers QB Jarrett Stidham's scoring run was the first third-quarter touchdown allowed by Georgia this year.