University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Makes Final Preparations For Contest At Auburn
November 13, 2008 | Football
ATHENS, Ga. --- The 13th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs made final preparations for their upcoming Southeastern Conference contest at Auburn by holding a 90-mintue practice at Sanford Stadium on Thursday
Kickoff between the Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 SEC) and the Tigers (5-5, 2-4 SEC) is scheduled for 12:34 p.m. ET at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised regionally by Raycom with Dave Neal, Dave Archer and Dave Baker providing the commentary. All Georgia games are broadcast live on the Bulldog Radio Network on AM 750 WSB in Atlanta and on both 106.1 FM and 960 The Ref in Athens. The radio audio also can be heard worldwide on both georgiadogs.com, the official website of UGA Athletics, and on XM satellite radio, channel 199.
Prior to Thursday’s practice, Georgia head coach Mark Richt met with the media and addressed the practice session.
“We’ve had good practices, and I’m pretty pleased with how that’s gone,” Richt said. “We’ve got one more time in the stadium and one more time cranking up the noise. It’s been a little bit of Groundhog’s Day here in the last four weeks as far as the preparation. We will change the music to something Auburn on the crowd noise. That’s about the only difference.”
Saturday’s contest at Auburn will mark the end of a four-game road swing that began Oct. 25 in Baton Rouge against LSU followed by stops in Jacksonville, Florida and then Lexington, Kentucky. After playing the Tigers this weekend, the Bulldogs will have an off week before playing host to Georgia Tech Nov. 29 to conclude the regular season.
“We are all looking forward to the week off that’s for sure,” Richt stated. “But I don’t think it’s been too bad being on the road. I don’t know if it’s tough on anybody in particular or if the players or coaches would say it’s tougher. I doubt they would. I think they kind of like being on the road in that you can really concentrate and focus on your business and then come on home. We are anxious to get back. It’s going to be fun to get back with all the senior day stuff, but that’s for the next two weeks to talk about. I’m glad we have another home game before the season ends. I would hate to go four away games and that’s it. I’m thankful to have one more at home.”
Richt also noted that redshirt sophomore Josh Davis would be the probable starter at right tackle, but that fellow redshirt sophomore Kiante Tripp would play as well.
“Josh can play and knows what to do,” Richt added. “Josh has been kind of a putty man for us. He’s probably played each guard and each tackle position, and I know he’s practiced at each position except center. He knows what to do and his technique is getting better. He has just been not as strong as he’s going to be one day. That’s really been his only issue right now.”
Saturday’s Georgia-Auburn game will be the 112th meeting in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry that began in 1892. Auburn leads the series 53-50-8, and the rivalry is tied with the Oregon-Oregon State as the seventh-most played series in the country. It is one of 23 in the nation to have reached the century mark in games played. The only thing that has stopped the Bulldogs and Tigers from playing each year has been world war. The squads did not play in 1943 because Auburn did not field a team due to World War II, and there were not game in 1917-18 because of World War I. With those exceptions, Georgia and Auburn have met every year since 1898. In the series, the road team has enjoyed more success. The Tigers are 18-10 in Athens while the Bulldogs are 13-9-2 in Auburn. However, one of the more unique notes about the series involves points. In 111 meetings, Georgia has outscored Auburn by a grand total of 45 points, 1,730 to 1,685.
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