No. 9 Auburn at Georgia score: Bulldogs upset Tigers, ending SEC title hopes

It was not Gus Malzahn's night in Athens as Kirby Smart picked up a signature win

Georgia stunned No. 9 Auburn in Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a tremendous defensive performance on the way to a 13-7 upset victory.

The win gets the Bulldogs bowl eligible, while also ruining rival Auburn's hopes of a run at the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff. With the loss, Auburn can no longer win the SEC West, even if the Tigers were to upset No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn's offense struggled mightily against Georgia, especially in the second half. The Tigers had seven drives in the second half and zero first downs. The first drive of the half resulted in a pick-six on the third play, the next five went three-and-out and the final possession resulted in a turnover on downs. Georgia's defense allowed 32 total yards in the second half as Auburn quarterback Sean White completed only 3-of-14 passes for 12 yards.

Georgia wasn't significantly better than Auburn on offense, as the Dawgs moved the ball but could not get into the end zone. Consistency and finishing drives was an issue, but freshman quarterback Jacob Eason made some fantastic throws down the field as he completed 20-of-31 passes for 208 yards. Nick Chubb led the way on the ground for 98 yards on 23 carries.

The Bulldogs' two red zone trips resulted in an interception by Terry Godwin on a trick play and a field goal, but that was still enough to earn the upset thanks to the defensive performance and great ball control by the offense.

The Godwin interception was the lone turnover of the game for the Bulldogs, and in the second half, Georgia held the ball for nearly 23 minutes. Most notably was itslast full drive of the game when the Bulldogs took 6:48 off the clock, going 65 yards in 14 plays to set up a chip shot field goal for Rodrigo Blankenship (2-of-3 on field goals for the game).

The loss by Auburn clinched the SEC West division title for Alabama, making the Iron Bowl finale a matter of pride (and Alabama's undefeated season and No. 1 ranking). Georgia becomes bowl eligible and continues to see improvement from Eason all while the defense appears to be coming into its own under Kirby Smart. This certainly bodes well for the Bulldogs heading into the end of the season and beyond.

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