The 2023 edition of the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” will take place on Saturday afternoon in week 5 of the college football season when the Georgia Bulldogs will travel to take on the Auburn Tigers. Georgia will be a huge favorite in this matchup as they are the #1 team in college football this year while the Auburn Tigers are in rebuild mode with 1^st year head coach Hugh Freeze. Will the Bulldogs win in a rout or can the Tigers keep the game closer than Vegas projects? Let’s take a closer look at how these teams are faring this season.

The Georgia Bulldogs enter this game ranked 1^st in the AP Poll and 1^st in the College Poll with a record of 4-0 following a 49-21 win at home against the UAB Blazers while failing to cover the 40-point spread as a home favorite in week 4 of the college football season. Georgia scored 49 points while compiling 582 total yards offensively which included 394 passing yards and 188 rushing yards while allowing 21 points and 336 total yards defensively which included 250 passing yards and 86 rushing yards. Carson Beck led the team in passing, completing 22 of 32 attempts for 338 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for seven yards and a touchdown. Daijun Edwards led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns while adding a reception for six yards. Brock Bowers led the team in receiving, catching all nine targets for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Auburn enters this game with a record of 3-1 following a 10-27 loss on the road against the Texas A&M Aggies while failing to cover the 9.5-point spread as a road underdog in week 4 of the college football season. The Tigers scored 10 points while compiling a total of 200 total yards offensively which included 56 passing yards and 144 rushing yards while allowing 27 points and 402 total yards defensively which included 193 passing yards and 209 rushing yards. Payton Thorne led the team in passing, completing 6 of 12 attempts for 44 yards. Brian Battle led the team in rushing with eight carries for 59 yards while also leading the team in receiving with two receptions for 23 yards.

BookMaker has the Georgia Bulldogs listed as 16.5-point favorites on the road against the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon in week 5 of the college football season. Georgia has won nine of the last ten including the previous six matchups in a row while winning by an average margin of 13.2 points per game over the last ten and 25.67 points per game over the last three games in the series. Georgia is 0-3-1 ATS overall, 0-3-1 ATS as a favorite, and 0-1 ATS in conference games this season while the Auburn Tigers are 1-3 ATS overall, 1-1 ATS at home, 0-1 ATS as an underdog, and 0-1 ATS in conference games on the year.

Georgia is the more talented team this season and has been the dominant team in the series, winning nine of the last ten including the previous six matchups in a row. The Bulldogs have won by an average margin of 25.67 points per game and I look for that trend to continue in this matchup which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the Georgia Bulldogs -16 on BookMaker for this matchup on Saturday afternoon.