When they announced they were moving the Auburn game out of November, I was pissed. 100+ years of history down the drain. However, looking back on it, and especially after beating Tennessee once again, it has benefited us a ton and has only hurt them.
For us:
- we basically swapped the game with Tennessee, which meant we have now played them later in the season after we found our footing (think 2022 Mizzou and 2023 Auburn)
- we get a lot more games worth of film on Tennessee, something that can only benefit us with that gimmicky offense. That’s partly why Heupel can’t score on UGA
- we get a bigger November matchup, which the committee values over September games, had we beat Auburn by 18 last weekend, I doubt we jump up in the committee’s rankings. In fact, I would believe Tennessee would be ranked ahead of us after Ole Miss because of the Alabama win had we beat them in September
For Auburn:
- their schedule didn’t get really easier. They would’ve played LSU before Bama in 2020, ended 2021 0-4 in November (losses to A&M, Miss State, and South Carolina before the Iron Bowl), split A&M and Miss State in 2022, infamously lost to NMSU in 2023, and have A&M again this weekend. Nothing has been gained from them getting a Georgia-less November.
- even if Auburn was good, they have one less big November game to help perception in the committee’s eyes.
Anyways, just my two cents. To hell with Auburn, they got what they deserved.
For us:
- we basically swapped the game with Tennessee, which meant we have now played them later in the season after we found our footing (think 2022 Mizzou and 2023 Auburn)
- we get a lot more games worth of film on Tennessee, something that can only benefit us with that gimmicky offense. That’s partly why Heupel can’t score on UGA
- we get a bigger November matchup, which the committee values over September games, had we beat Auburn by 18 last weekend, I doubt we jump up in the committee’s rankings. In fact, I would believe Tennessee would be ranked ahead of us after Ole Miss because of the Alabama win had we beat them in September
For Auburn:
- their schedule didn’t get really easier. They would’ve played LSU before Bama in 2020, ended 2021 0-4 in November (losses to A&M, Miss State, and South Carolina before the Iron Bowl), split A&M and Miss State in 2022, infamously lost to NMSU in 2023, and have A&M again this weekend. Nothing has been gained from them getting a Georgia-less November.
- even if Auburn was good, they have one less big November game to help perception in the committee’s eyes.
Anyways, just my two cents. To hell with Auburn, they got what they deserved.
