Auburn-Georgia fashions itself as an old fashioned rivalry, and that old fashioned rivalry has an old fashioned halftime score. The 9th-ranked Tigers claim a 7-0 edge over the Bulldogs at the break in Athens.
Playing without starting running back Kamryn Pettway (leg), Auburn has taken an offense-by-committee approach, letting six different players carry the ball, four Tigers take shotgun snaps from center and two of them throw passes. Most of the offense, though, has come from the legs of backup running back Kerryon Johnson, who’s carried 15 times for 74 yards to this point. Sean White has thrown only seven times, completing four for just 19 yards.
Johnson also has the only score of the day, a 3-yard plunge with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.
As a team, Auburn has run 23 times for 109 yards.
As indicative of the goose egg on the scoreboard, Georgia’s offense has struggled to get much going thus far. Nick Chubb has rushed nine times for 39 yards and Sony Michel has added 38 yards on four attempts. Jacob Eason has completed 8-of-16 passes for 102 yards. A number of deep shots have come up on the wrong end of coin-flip pass interference calls, and the Dawgs’ best scoring chance ended in a halfback pass that Terry Godwin tossed to a wide open Auburn defensive back in Tray Matthews.
Auburn will receive to open the second half.