ATHENS, Ga. — After two subpar performances versus Kent State and Missouri, the Georgia Bulldogs dropped to No. 2 in the AP poll and have gone back to the drawing board to fix their mistakes.
Head Coach Kirby Smart feels like Saturday's come from behind road win was a learning experience for the younger players on his roster.
"Some of those youthful anxiety guys playing in that kind of atmosphere for the first time, we're a team -- last year's team, they would've played in that a bunch of times. There is a lot of youth there, but to be honest with you, it was a great opportunity to see what we're about," Smart said. "I don't know if you could find any greater adversity than be down 10 points to in the fourth quarter. Resiliency all those things, but we got to make sure we do a good job building on that and start faster and better."
This week, Georgia and Auburn face off for the 126th time. The Tigers are led by dual-threat quarterback Robby Ashford who could create problems for UGA's defense.
"He is really special in terms of twitch, being elusive. His best plays sometimes are plays that end up being broken plays. The guy can take off and really hurt you, beat you with his arm, especially on scrambles. They had a huge play last week off a scramble play," Smart said. "So being disciplined in your rush lanes, being disciplined in your coverage responsibilities when a quarterback scrambles will probably happen more often this week than most weeks because of the athlete he is."
Kickoff on Saturday between Auburn and Georgia is set for 3:30 p.m. in Athens.