Auburn Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs Pick ATS

Auburn Tigers (6-3 SU, 4-5 ATS) vs. No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (8-1 SU, 5-4 ATS)
NCAA Football Week 10
Date/Time: Saturday November 10th, 2018. 7:00PM (EST)
Where: Sanford Stadium Athens, G.A.
TV: ESPN

Point Spread:AUB +14/UGA -14
Over/Under Total: 50

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry will be rekindled this Saturday when the Auburn Tigers go between the hedges in Athens for a showdown with the 5th ranked Georgia Bulldogs. It has been a tumultuous few weeks for Auburn. After suffering back to back unexpected losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee, fans were calling for an end to Head Coach Gus Malzahn’s tenure. However, the Tigers have rebounded in recent weeks with consecutive wins over Ole Miss and most recently no. 20 Texas A&M. Still, Auburn fans have high expectations and this week’s showdown with the Bulldogs will be another measuring stick for Malzahn’s program as they enter as 14 point underdogs in Athens.

Malzahn will return in 2019

One of the major storylines circling the program in recent weeks was the uncertain future of Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Gus Malzahn will be returning in 2019 as reported earlier today by Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene. Honestly, I thought the situation on the Plains escalated a bit too quickly for a Head Coach that has a tremendous resume. Malzahn helped lead the Tigers to a National Championship victory as the offensive coordinator in 2010. When Malzahn became the head coach in 2013, he led the Tigers back to the National Championship Game in his first season. Therefore, perhaps Auburn fans and players can let the situation settle down while they put a renewed focus on what really matters surrounding the performance on the field.

College Football Playoff implications on the line for Georgia against Auburn

While Auburn will attempt to restore faith in the program this week, the Bulldogs are trying to march their way back to the College Football Playoffs. Despite the disappointing loss to LSU a few weeks ago, the Bulldogs have responded with back to back victories over top 10 ranked opponents. In each game, Georgia won convincingly over the likes of Florida and Kentucky easily covering the spread in both of those games. Perhaps, this Georgia team is getting some of their confidence back, and they need to run the table to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The match-up to watch this week is the Georgia offense vs. the Auburn defense. For Auburn to contend, they will need a big defensive effort. I don’t see the Tigers posting a huge scoring number with their inconsistencies on offense against this rather solid defense. The Auburn offense has simply been too one dimensional for me to expect a breakout performance. Therefore, this game comes down to the Auburn defensive front and their ability to stand firm for 60 straight minutes. Everyone knows Georgia has an elite rushing attack led by talents like Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift. Both backs are rare talents, but they will be running into the strength of this Auburn defense. While concerning, I believe quarterback Jake Fromm is the x-factor in this matchup. Since the loss to LSU, Fromm has been excellent completing 70% passing in each of the last two games with 4 scores and 0 picks. I expect Fromm to have a more significant role in this game, compared to recent games, and if he can keep that same level of play; it will be extremely tough for the Tigers to keep pace with this balanced Georgia attack.

Bet the Bulldogs with confidence

Despite Auburn’s flashes of success under Malzahn, Georgia continues to dominate this rivalry in terms of recent years. In fact, the Bulldogs have won 10 of the last 12 meetings and have covered the spread in each of the last 5 meetings. While a lot of times old trends do not hold a lot of weight to the current match-up, I think this particular trend does hold some significance because the style of both teams has not changed. Both teams have a strong defense with Georgia’s getting the edge while both offenses rely heavily on the run game. However, the Bulldogs continue to maintain the most explosive playmakers on the field, and that is exactly how I see this week’s game especially with it being at home. Take Georgia will full confidence!

Jay’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Georgia -14 – Get a 100% Bonus – Up to $500 FREE GTBets!