ATHENS, Ga. — Auburn football suffered a 42-10 loss to Georgia on Saturday afternoon in the 127th edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, dropping Bryan Harsin's record to 9-10 as Tigers coach.
Here's how we graded Auburn's performance.
Yes, Georgia (6-0, 3-0 SEC) is Georgia, but it's hard for this grade to be anything else.
Jarquez Hunter caught a pass in the flat from Robby Ashford and spun away for a 62-yard touchdown. It took place in the fourth quarter with Auburn down 35-3 already, and there were precious few other highlights of which to speak.
The scenario that played out over and over again: Ashford took the shotgun snap, saw multiple Bulldogs in his face, rolled to his right and tossed the ball out of play. The Tigers gained 258 yards of offense and averaged four yards per snap.
In the first half, this grade would have been about a solid B. Auburn (3-3,1-2) held Stetson Bennett to 7-of-13 passing for 25 yards and didn't let Georgia score on its first three possessions. Thanks to the Tigers' defense, the offense had no lack of chances.
In the second half, the Tigers defense appeared to get tired. Daijun Edwards, Branson Robinson and company toted the rock and the Bulldogs offensive line pulverized the Auburn front. Georgia finished with nearly 300 yards on the ground.
Not much to write home about here. Anders Carlson made his lone field goal. Ladd McConkey had a long, tackle-breaking punt return in the first half, but that was about it for mistakes. Oscar Chapman (nine punts, 402 yards) might have been the Tigers' best player.
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Give Harsin credit. The Tigers' first-quarter fake punt in their own territory didn't work, but it was clear Harsin understood he'd need to take massive risks to have a shot at pulling off the upset. This particular risk was probably taken a bit too soon.
Auburn committed six false-start penalties. The Tigers lacked the discipline and preparation needed to survive a hostile crowd of 90,000-plus.
The Tigers were probably never going to win this game. Georgia is simply light years ahead in terms of talent. But nothing Auburn did, from a schematic perspective, put it in a better-than-expected position.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.