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No. 16 Georgia seeks payback vs. No. 9 Auburn Saturday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 11/15/2014  at  5:41:00 AM
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AUBURN TIGERS (7-2)
at GEORGIA BULLDOGS (7-2)

Kickoff: Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ET
Line: Georgia -2, Total: 68.5

Another big SEC matchup ensues on Saturday night when No. 9 Auburn visits No. 16 Georgia.

Auburn was rolling along this season while grabbing big wins against Kansas State, LSU and Ole Miss, but has just not had enough in the tank to beat every school with losses against two top SEC programs in Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The 41-38 loss last week was devastating to the 23.5-point underdog Aggies who didn't have starting QB Kenny Hill. It was three turnovers that eventually did the Tigers in after they were trailing 35-17 at the half in a game where the programs combined for 1,035 total yards. Georgia has not had quite as difficult of a schedule as Auburn, but does have some solid wins against Clemson and Missouri while absorbing losses to South Carolina and Florida. The Bulldogs are 5-4 ATS on the year and were able to cover the 10 points that they were giving to Kentucky on the road last week as they came away with a 63-31 blowout victory. The offense was dominant from start to finish as they scored the first 21 points and had 559 yards of total offense, including 305 yards (7.9 YPC) out of the ground game. This matchup was fairly even last season, as Auburn was a 3-point favorite at home and prevailed by a score of 43-38. They answered the Bulldogs 415 yards through the air with 323 yards on the ground (5.7 YPC) as they held off a late Georgia comeback with a 73-yard Hail Mary with 25 seconds on the clock to win the game. Some betting trends to keep an eye on in this one include that the Tigers are 11-2 ATS (85%) off of one or more straight Overs in the past two seasons while being a mere 8-19 ATS (30%) off a close lose of seven points or less to a conference rival since 1992. On the injury front, WR D’haquille Williams (leg) is doubtful for Auburn while HBs Keith Marshall (ankle) and Sony Michel (shoulder) are listed as questionable for the host Bulldogs. HB Todd Gurley (suspension) will return to Georgia after missing his past four games due to suspension.

Which SEC school will secure its eighth win of the season on Saturday? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season.

Auburn ranks among the elite offenses in football with 38.7 PPG (14th in FBS) while getting most of its production on the ground (286.4 YPG, 8th in nation), but also has decent numbers from the passing attack (220.4 YPG). QB Nick Marshall (1,576 pass yards, 14 TD, 4 INT) has been efficient this year, connecting on 61% of his passes for 8.4 YPA, but has not thrown for more than 254 yards in any one game. He actually is more of a threat as a runner with four rushing performances of 100+ yards while totaling 698 yards on 113 attempts (6.2 YPC) and 11 touchdowns. HB Cameron Artis-Payne (1,190 rush yards, 9 TD) has been a workhorse for the team while averaging 23.2 rushing attempts per game, and has hit triple digits in all but two of his nine contests. He had his biggest game of the year last week in the loss to Texas A&M as he tallied 221 yards on 30 carries (7.4 YPC) and scored twice. With top WR D’haquille Williams (609 rec yards, 5 TD) most likely missing Saturday's action, WRs Sammie Coates (416 yards, 2 TD, 20.8 avg) and Quan Bray (287 rec yards, 3 TD) will be leaned on to lead the pass-catching duties. The defense for Auburn has allowed 35.7 PPG over the past three games and has given up 24.1 PPG on the year. DB Johnathan Ford (65 tackles, 2 INT) and LB Cassanova McKinzy (64 tackles, 8.5 TFL) hope they can lead their team to a better performance this week against a tough Georgia offense.

The Bulldogs do a lot right on the offensive side of things and rank seventh in the nation in scoring (43.0 PPG) behind big performances from their running backs (256.3 rush YPG, 15th in FBS) and 196.9 YPG through the air. QB Hutson Mason (1,515 pass yards, 15 TD, 3 INT) has been great in completing 69% of his passes and not throwing an interception in four games since Oct. 4. He put together one of his best efforts to date against Kentucky last week with a career-high four touchdowns on 13-of-16 passing and 174 yards. There are high expectations in the return of HB Todd Gurley (773 rush yards, 8 TD), as he has averaged an amazing 8.2 YPC in his five games played while going over 130 yards on the ground four times. HB Nick Chubb (895 rush yards, 7 TD) held the starting role while Gurley was out and will still have a big impact for his team after averaging 167.8 YPG in his four starts. WRs Chris Conley (443 rec yards, 5 TD) and Michael Bennett (302 rec yards, 4 TD) are the top options for Mason while Conley was able to grab two scores last week. Georgia has allowed its opponents to score 23.2 PPG as the LB duo of Amarlo Herrera (75 tackles, 3 sacks) and Ramik Wilson (72 tackles, 6 TFL) have been impressive.


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