The Georgia Bulldogs caught their first loss of the season on Saturday, and they caught it hard. The No. 1 ranked team in the nation got beat down by Auburn, a 40-17 whomping that probably wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.
Auburn’s relentless defense frustrated Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm and the Bulldogs backfield had nowhere to run, while every opportunity to score turned into points for the cagey Auburn offense. It was a triumphant win for Auburn that ruins Georgia’s hopes for a perfect season down the stretch run of the season.
It’s impressive just how bad the Bulldogs looked on Saturday afternoon. They never quite got going against Auburn after the Tigers took a 16-7 halftime lead thanks to a crazy Darius Slayton touchdown catch.
https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/929468898759421952
Meanwhile, mistakes like this just crushed the Bulldogs.
Not the best punt return ever. pic.twitter.com/bdVVgSpEOZ
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 11, 2017
It was so convincing for Auburn that they took multiple breaks to dance, including between the third and fourth quarters and even before a play in the fourth while Georgia was trying in vain to mount a comeback.
You know things are going well for a team when its defense is dancing before the play. pic.twitter.com/T1O7p5EGDA
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 11, 2017
When you’re likely to get meme’d like the New York Jets were on Thursday Night Football against the Bills, you know you’re having a good night.
Here’s the exclamation point on the night for Auburn, a reverse-field screen for a long touchdown thanks to a caravan of blockers.
https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/929495424389357568
The win for Auburn was huge in a number of ways. First, it gives them a slim but still very real chance of sneaking into the College Football Playoff, even as a two-loss team. It’s never been done before, but if the Tigers can win out, including an Iron Bowl win over Alabama and another win against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, it’s a very real possibility. Even with two losses, it would be really tough to say there’s a more impressive team than an Auburn squad that beat Georgia twice and took down what should be a top-ranked Alabama squad.
It’s been a season full of crazy results already this year. Why couldn’t a dominant-looking Auburn team shake off early-season losses to Clemson and LSU to somehow compete for a national title in January?
