ATHENS, Ga. — The Deep South's oldest rivalry has been a fixture since long before the 1918 Spanish flu, but today will mark the first time Georgia and Auburn square off during a pandemic.
First played in 1892, the game skipped 1918 (and 1917) because of World War I.
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Tonight, Sanford Stadium will be welcoming fans for the most high-profile sporting event with people in attendance since the beginning of the pandemic. ESPN's College Gameday also set up shop in Athens.
The basics
- Who: Georgia Bulldogs
- What: Football vs. Auburn
- When: 7:30 p.m.
- Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens
- TV: ESPN
Sanford Stadium is expected to have about a 20% capacity for tonight's game, meaning about 20,000 fans will be on hand for the big game - which probably won't quite make it feel like the "social event of year," but is still more than enough to make a lot of noise. And, given how things have gone this year, 20,000 people in one place probably actually does qualify as the social event of the year.
In a nice sign for Bulldogs fans, three Gameday panelists picked Georgia to win the game - yes, two, David Pollack and guest Omari Hardwick, went to UGA, but so what!
Lee Corso also picked the Dawgs.
On the field, coach Kirby Smart has yet to name a starter at quarterback, after freshman starter D'Wan Mathis struggled last week against Arkansas.
In that game, Stetson Bennett IV came on and threw for more than 200 yards and two TDs, but it's not yet clear if he'll have earned the nod for tonight on that performance.
Despite a 7-5 halftime deficit against the Razorbacks, the Bulldogs rallied to win their first game of the season comfortably, 37-10.