Friday preview: Georgia, the nuts-and-bolts

Sen'Derrick Marks: the most important non-quarterback player on Auburn's team starting at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.

This week's preview is getting split into two parts. This one will focus on the rational, down-to-down, matchup-type analysis which will make me want to bang out a new door between our place and the apartment next door with my head. The next one will be the irrational optimistic one in which I lay out the reasons I still have hope for this game because being a college football fan without hope is dumb. Besides, Auburn really could win. I'm serious.

But not for the reasons in this post.

When Auburn has the ball: Maybe, just maybe, things won't be quite as bad as you think.

Sure, Auburn's still 100th in the nation in total offense even after playing UT-Martin. Sure, I have no confidence whatsoever in our current offensive coaching staff to do what Kentucky did last week and find a way to make the absolute most out of their one genuine offensive weapon, a mobile QB. Sure, I'm basing that statement off of three halves against UT-Martin and Ole Miss, neither of which have defenses statistically anywhere near Georgia's.

And yet ... and yet ... Auburn punted a total of twice in those three halves. Burns has showed some (if not an overwhelming amount) consistency on the short slant and out routes. Burns's legs mean that Auburn now has some modicum of ability ot move the ball on the ground even out of the spread. And while the ace/I stuff didn't accomplish much against Ole Miss, between its first-half success in Morgantown and Kentucky's shoving of the Dawgs around last week, there's a glimmer of hope it could net a few yards tomorrow, too. To top it off, Burns has even hit some downfield passes each of the last two weeks.

Put it all together--a 6-yard out here, a 5-yard QB draw there, maybe a dash of Chris Slaughter down the sideline--and you've got an offense that I think can move the ball on the Dawgs a little bit. Not a lot. But a little bit.

The question is whether Auburn can turn that "little bit" into points. Burns's decision-making poisoned the well against Ole Miss; the fumblies screwed things up against Martin (to the extent things got screwed up). Until they actually do it, you can't assume they will. Until Auburn hits the 20-point mark on offense against an SEC team, you can't expect them to do that. But for the first time since they took the field against Mississippi St., I honestly feel like maybe, just maybe, the potential is there.

I'm not even that confident, however, about how things will go ...

When Georgia has the ball, because Auburn's got only one shot at keeping these guys from running all over us. When Blutarsky writes ...

The one truly excellent unit that will see the field tomorrow is the Georgia offense. Looking at the others, both Georgia’s and Auburn’s defenses started out well this season, but have sagged lately, and Auburn’s offense never got going. If there aren’t any hiccups or surprises, on paper that should be enough to generate at least a two-touchdown difference in the score. On paper.

... I tend to agree with him. Auburn got gashed by Arkansas and West Virginia all the way around and while the secondary played very well in Oxford, they couldn't do a thing with Ole Miss's ground game. So why should it be any different against Georgia, who has more talent and a better all-around offense than any of them?

Well, it shouldn't, really. Most likely, the Dawgs will blow open vast holes in the Auburn front seven, force the safeties to come up in run support, then throw to their wide receiving terrors running free downfield. This is the most probable outcome. If Auburn and Georgia played tomorrow's game 10 times, Georgia would probably put up four touchdowns or more, oh, 7-and-a-half times.

But there is one thing the Razorbacks, Mountaineers, and Rebels all had that the Dawgs do not have. And that is an intact offensive line. Oh, Georgia's line will still be good enough (and well coached enough) to do some damage. But Hog damage? 'Eer damage? Rebel damage? Maybe not. Those lines are, probably, better.

And while I'm not sure Marks, Coleman, and Doolittle are really so much healthier than they were against Arkansas, they're healthier now than they've been since then. They'd better be. Because they have to take over this game. They have to close up holes before they open. They have to tackle Moreno (and King) every single time they get the chance. They have to put enough pressure on Staford by themselves that Rhoads can leave the back seven intact and winning, hopefully, the same downfield battles that it won against Ole Miss.

If Georgia had the same caliber line as Arkansas or West Virginia or Ole Miss, I would say this is style of domination was not possible. And it remains deeply, deeply unlikely. But the Dawgs are beat up. Perhaps they do not have that kind of line. And maybe, just maybe, that kind of domination is possible after all.

When special teams are on the field: Auburn has to be perfect. Not just good. Perfect. Robert Dunn cannot fumble a punt into the endzone. Chris Slaughter cannot let a bouncing ball bounce by him for 20 yards of field position. (Remember when we were so proud of our punt returns? Dunn scaring Southern Miss into submission seems like a lifetime ago.) Hull cannot land a kickoff at the 11. Durst cannot waste a drive to the Dawg 45 by booting the ball into the end zone. The Dawgs cannot break loose for more than a first down's worth or two returning punts or kickoffs. Davis has to get Auburn past the 30--minimum--on kickoff returns. And for the love of everything holy, Byrum--make your field goals.

Anything less than perfection on special teams will reduce Auburn's chances to just a notch or two above zilch.

Nuts-and-bolts conclusion: To ask this Auburn team for a win against this Georgia team is to ask for perfection. This Auburn team, unfortunately, has not been anywhere close to perfection yet this year. To ask for a win is to ask for something deeply improbable.

But entering last year's Florida game, last year's Auburn team was perhaps--perhaps--even further from perfection. And the game they played in the Swamp that night, while not perfect, was close enough that we all could touch it. I believe Auburn can come that close again. I do. Yes, we are asking for a win. We are asking the improbable. But even looking at these nuts-and-bolts and putting aside our blind hope in our head coach, our home field advantage, our pure blind luck which has to come home to us sometime: We, the Auburn hopeful, are not asking the impossible.

More soon.