ATLANTA — There were some initial fears of an Auburn upset with UGA fans on Saturday night, with the Tigers producing 10 of the first 16 points.
But things changed in a hurry late in the second quarter, once Georgia's offense started kicking into high gear.
Enter quarterback Jake Fromm.
After splitting time with 5-star freshman Justin Fields in the first quarter, Fromm took command in the next stanza, engineering a pair of touchdown drives, while also guiding the No. 5 Dawgs to a 20-10 halftime lead.
Fromm's numbers at the break: 10 of 13 passing for 148 yards and two scores.
Both touchdowns were a thing of beauty, but disparate in form:
a) Tyler Simmons' 14-yard touchdown catch became the end result of an easy down-and-out route against Auburn's corps of beleaguered defenders.
b) With UGA operating its 2-minute offense before the break, Fromm connected with Terry Godwin on a perfectly placed slant route ... and the senior wideout took care of the rest by out-sprinting every other defender to the goal line
Now, does Auburn have enough speed, size and playmaking talent to mount a comeback?
Of course.
That said, it's hard to envision the Bulldogs devolving into a sluggish pattern offensively in the second half, as long as Fromm garners consistent reps under center.
Should this be construed as a knock on Fields? In one respect, yes.
For whatever reason, Fields hasn't yet earned his coaches' trust, in terms of attempting mid-level to deep passes against the SEC's defenses.
As such, Fields might not be ready to handle the Fromm workload ... although that could certainly change in a month, or this time next year.
Whatever the case, Georgia's just 30 minutes away from adding another 12-month cycle to the last time Auburn won in Athens (2005).
