Georgia vs. Auburn

The Georgia Bulldogs travel to Auburn, Alabama today to face off against the undefeated and second ranked Auburn Tigers in the 114th edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The days of power running and stingy defense are gone at Auburn, at least for the moment, as this revamped Tigers spread option attack comes in to today's match-up averaging over 42 points a game. Led by quarterback and Heisman front-runner Cam Newton, the Tigers have their eyes set on a national championship. In five of Auburn's ten games this season, Newton has rushed for over 100 yards and has racked up 14 rushing TD's. Not to mention his 1,573 yards through the air with 15 passing TD's. With that said, Marilisa and I predict the Dawgs to pull off the upset and beat Auburn for the fifth straight year. You might be asking yourself how a 5-5 Georgia team can beat an undefeated Auburn team poised for a national championship run. Well, here's the why and how:

1. Auburn is weak on the defensive side of the ball. The offensive explosion we've seen out of the Tigers this year has masked the fact that they are very weak defensively, and have almost given away a few games. In five games this year, Auburn has given up 24 or more points to an unranked opponent, including 24 last week against powerhouse Chattanooga. In the last five games, Georgia been held to less than 40 points only once, averaging 42 a game in that stretch. Look for A.J. Green to tear up the Auburn secondary.

2. Cam Newton is distracted. With allegations of recruiting violations and an alleged cheating scandal while at Florida, Cam Newton has to be a little distracted with all the chaos surronding him. These off the field issues have likely made it difficult to prepare for a tough Georgia defense, and Newton will look out of sync with his offense today.

3. Aurburn is looking ahead. With a big showdown against in-state rival Alabama in Iron Bowl looming, Auburn is no doubt looking past a Georgia team that has struggled in a rebuilding year.

4. Special Teams. In high scoring games, special teams can often be the difference, and with one of the top return men in the country in Brandon Boykin, the Dawgs may be able to steal some quick points. Blair Walsh and Drew Butler should also give us an advantage in this often overlooked third phase of the game.

5. Intelligence. The average Georgia 3rd grader could be awarded acceptance to Auburn, and this certainly gives the Dawgs a slight advantage in this bitter rivalry.

It should be an exciting and high-scoring game, as two excellent offensive attacks square off in what is usually a big game for recruiting rights.

Prediction: Georgia 42 Auburn 35

Today's game can be seen at 3:30 EST on CBS