Woah, the 129th match against one another!  By now, Auburn and Georgia must have learned everything about one another. Well, we have to wait till this weekend, October 5 to find out who gets the advantage: Kirby Smart or Hugh Freeze? However, things will be a bit difficult for Smart’s Dawgs with only a week having passed since Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama stripped them hard.

As the wounds are still fresh, an insider reveals how Saturday’s game might leave Smart looking for some more ointment for his wounds. But at the end of the day, it’s the Tigers who are now suffering from a “chronic illness” that may also turn the tables. 

Smart might be clever, but luck isn’t on his side. The biggest example is September 29th, when they got swept away by the Tide leading to a 41-34 soul-crushing defeat. The Georgia HC could be feeling a little down with defeats, and here are some numbers that could motivate him. On October 4, the UGA Football on Dawg Post host gave a rundown of what the Georgia vs Auburn game actually means to Smart. “In terms of Georgia’s rivals, you don’t see a lot of Georgia-Florida, you don’t Tech-Georgia but Auburn Georgia, you see that a lot,” claimed the host. 

Right now Smart must be having some mixed feelings. Deep down he is all aware of how the Dawgs hold an advantage over the Tigers. “Georgia had a lot of success against Auburn,” the host pointed out. Plus Smart’s squad will be facing “a wounded Auburn team” as Freeze and co. have been maintaining a loss streak after losing to California, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. As this makes the Saturday game just “another game” for the Tigers it’s an “important game” for Smart. 

Somewhere beneath his bravado Smart too knows “Hugh Freeze is one of the few people who’s coaching in college football that’s beaten Kirby.” There are a lot of programs that Dawgs lost to, but most of them do not have the same coaches anymore. While that too didn’t help much, as the recent example being how Kalen DeBoer replacing Nick Saban cost them hard. But “Hugh Freeze is one of them and they really drilled Georgia.” With this, Kirby Smart and the Dawgs will have to hit the one weak spot of the Tigers.

Auburn’s “chronic illness’ puts Kirby Smart and co. at ease

Georgia’s SEC opener is also a Homecoming day as they would be facing the Freeze’s program at Sanford Stadium. Well, rather than being an advantage this might be a reason for Smart to lose his goodnight’s sleep. The Dawgs once lost a home game to Auburn in 2005. But gone are those days when the Tigers were in their best form. Right at the moment, things are difficult for them as well. 

On the Ruffino & Joe Show podcast, analyst Jake Crain came forward with something interesting, “There seems to be a chronic illness in the Auburn football program.” Yes, that’s exactly what Smart has been looking for. But what’s this illness all about? “The fear of choking it’s called pseudo dysphasia.” And what are its symptoms?

Well, Hugh Freeze’s squad no longer makes the big moves anymore. Instead, they are either spotted doubting themselves, fearing that they might screw things up, or praying to god that they don’t have to make a kick. Now, time for Kirby Smart and the Dawgs to capitalize on Auburn’s “illness” and serve them a good ol’ dose of defeat.  

Besides the pre-game analysis, if you want to explore concepts like NIL and NFL, you can check out the latest episode of the Think Tank podcast.