POINT SPREAD TUESDAY: On Point Spread Tuesday, we take a look at the point-spread history of the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry,” or at least when more reliable, precise odds were established for college football beginning in the mid-1960s.
Including this Saturday’s line, which is currently Auburn favored by a point, the average point spread of the Bulldogs-Tigers beginning in 1964 is approximately 6 points. Notably, of the 51 meetings from 1964 through 2014, Georgia entered 33 of the games favored; however, the Dogs recorded a 24-25-2 mark against the Tigers, and only 22-28-1 against the spread.
The following are the straight-up records against Auburn of the four head coaches over the last 50+ years (followed by their record against the spread in parenthesis), revealing that just one of the Bulldogs’ last four at the helm has truly prospered—both straight up and against the number—versus the Tigers:
Vince Dooley: 11-13-1 (9-15-1)
Ray Goff: 2-4-1 (3-4)
Jim Donnan: 2-3 (2-3)
Mark Richt: 9-5 (8-6)
In the series, the Bulldogs have been favored by 10 or more points on five occasions (1976, 1981, 1999, 2011, and 2012) and, not surprisingly, they won four times. On the contrary, Georgia has been an underdog of 10 or more points seven times but, oddly, the Dogs are 4-2-1 straight up as a huge dog. What’s more, the results of the Bulldogs’ four victories against Auburn as double-digit underdogs (1970, 1986, 1996, and 2006)—games Georgia entered as an average underdog of 13 points—has been an average winning margin of remarkably 12 points.
The Georgia-Auburn game this Saturday would mark the eighth contest in the series where the point spread is less than two points. Curiously, of the seven previous meetings with a line of less than two points, almost always the wrong team has been favored as six times the underdog won straight up (1965, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, and 1993).
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ON THIS DATE – November 10th: Despite their 8-10-1 all-time record in games played on November 10th, the Bulldogs have experienced a few memorable moments on this date. On this date 70 years ago in 1945, junior Charley Trippi rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in a 34-0 victory over Florida in Jacksonville. Trippi’s yardage would remain a single-game school record for 35 years until broken by freshman Herschel Walker in 1980 against Vanderbilt. Today, his 239 yards against the Gators rank fifth all time.
The last time Georgia played on November 10th was three years ago, when the Bulldogs pitched a shutout on the Plains, 38-0. In Georgia’s win at Auburn in 2012, freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each rushed for 100+ yards, while the Tigers became the first team to be shutout in the series since Georgia’s 28-0 win at Auburn in 1976. And, the one time a team was favored by less than two points in this series, and actually won, occurred on November 10, 2007. The Bulldogs, who entered as 1.5-point favorites while donning black jerseys for the first time in the program’s history, rallied from a 20-17 deficit late in the third quarter to score 28 unanswered points to blitz past the Tigers, 45-20.
Including this Saturday’s line, which is currently Auburn favored by a point, the average point spread of the Bulldogs-Tigers beginning in 1964 is approximately 6 points. Notably, of the 51 meetings from 1964 through 2014, Georgia entered 33 of the games favored; however, the Dogs recorded a 24-25-2 mark against the Tigers, and only 22-28-1 against the spread.
The following are the straight-up records against Auburn of the four head coaches over the last 50+ years (followed by their record against the spread in parenthesis), revealing that just one of the Bulldogs’ last four at the helm has truly prospered—both straight up and against the number—versus the Tigers:
Vince Dooley: 11-13-1 (9-15-1)
Ray Goff: 2-4-1 (3-4)
Jim Donnan: 2-3 (2-3)
Mark Richt: 9-5 (8-6)
In the series, the Bulldogs have been favored by 10 or more points on five occasions (1976, 1981, 1999, 2011, and 2012) and, not surprisingly, they won four times. On the contrary, Georgia has been an underdog of 10 or more points seven times but, oddly, the Dogs are 4-2-1 straight up as a huge dog. What’s more, the results of the Bulldogs’ four victories against Auburn as double-digit underdogs (1970, 1986, 1996, and 2006)—games Georgia entered as an average underdog of 13 points—has been an average winning margin of remarkably 12 points.
The Georgia-Auburn game this Saturday would mark the eighth contest in the series where the point spread is less than two points. Curiously, of the seven previous meetings with a line of less than two points, almost always the wrong team has been favored as six times the underdog won straight up (1965, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, and 1993).
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ON THIS DATE – November 10th: Despite their 8-10-1 all-time record in games played on November 10th, the Bulldogs have experienced a few memorable moments on this date. On this date 70 years ago in 1945, junior Charley Trippi rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in a 34-0 victory over Florida in Jacksonville. Trippi’s yardage would remain a single-game school record for 35 years until broken by freshman Herschel Walker in 1980 against Vanderbilt. Today, his 239 yards against the Gators rank fifth all time.
The last time Georgia played on November 10th was three years ago, when the Bulldogs pitched a shutout on the Plains, 38-0. In Georgia’s win at Auburn in 2012, freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each rushed for 100+ yards, while the Tigers became the first team to be shutout in the series since Georgia’s 28-0 win at Auburn in 1976. And, the one time a team was favored by less than two points in this series, and actually won, occurred on November 10, 2007. The Bulldogs, who entered as 1.5-point favorites while donning black jerseys for the first time in the program’s history, rallied from a 20-17 deficit late in the third quarter to score 28 unanswered points to blitz past the Tigers, 45-20.
