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Inside the Auburn Tigers Georgia played two quarterbacks in its opener against Arkansas last weekend, with D'Wan Mathis drawing the start before being replace in the first half by former walk-on Stetson Bennett IV due to ineffectiveness in running the Bulldogs' offense . . . Davis was eating dinner with his wife when he got a call from Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner, who recruited Hamm, with the news . . . This is going to be a brutally physical game, and I'm only giving the edge to Auburn here based on Bo Nix's moxie in big games . . . Malzahn and No. 7 Auburn (1-0) are banking on Nix to learn from those freshman experiences as a struggling freshman on the road as the Tigers head into their first road test of the season — a 6:30 p.m. kickoff against No. 4 Georgia (1-0) in Athens, Ga., on Saturday . . . Two-Minute Drill: keys for Auburn on Saturday night vs. Georgia . . . The Bulldogs, who the Tigers will play Saturday in a 6:30 p.m. matchup in Athens, dominated on special teams in their win over Arkansas. From coverage to kicking to punting to returning, the Bulldogs performed well . . . Now, No. 7 Auburn (1-0) will travel to Athens, Ga., to take on No. 4 Georgia (1-0) this weekend in what will be the earliest meeting on the calendar between the two programs since their very first matchup in 1892 . . . While the game didn't start out the way Auburn would have preferred, the second half showed the Tigers' potential. After giving up 120 yards in the first half, the Tigers locked the Wildcats down and held them to 1.7 yards per carry. They did that all while down a starter . . . Auburn fans remember the heartbreak that came with the incomplete pass on 4th-and-2 to Harold Joiner, but there were other chances . . . Considering Auburn will be facing Georgia, a team that was one of the best rushing defenses in the country last season, it will need to get warmed up fast . . . Senior defensive end and team captain Big Kat Bryant, who was limited during the Tigers' season-opener against Kentucky due to an ankle injury, said he is "feeling great" after Auburn's first practice of the week . . . It wasn't the explosive opening act from one of Auburn's deepest running back rooms in recent years that fans may have hoped for, but Malzahn is confident that as the O-line puzzle continues to be solved, new offensive coordinator Chad Morris will facilitate expansion and improvement on the ground . . . Nix doesn't just have an arm. He's also got a serious set of legs . . . Last season Auburn had some success against the Bulldogs, but much of that came late when the Tigers jumped into a two-minute offense . . . "(You're) looking at a team that's probably the most talented team overall in the SEC . . . When asked if he will wear a similar outfit this weekend against No. 4 Georgia (1-0), Malzahn — in typical Malzahn fashion — didn't want to tip his hand one way or the other . . . So Auburn will trudge forward in its game prep without a clue of who will take the first snap — or the majority of snaps — under center . . . The expectations are that Nix will take a step forward in his maturation as a QB this season, meshing with new offensive coordinator Chad Morris in a marriage that could take Auburn's offense to the next level . . . The line may have been frustrated, but it didn't lose its confidence in its ability or in its coaches . . . Gus Malzahn may not be calling plays for Auburn this season after ceding control of the offense to Chad Morris, but the Tigers' head coach still managed to go into his bag of tricks during the team's season opener . . . The SEC announced Monday that Simpson's performance in his first career start earned him the freshman of the week award . . . In all, Auburn had eight new players on offense see the field for the first time on Saturday, while five defenders and one special teamer made their debut against Kentucky . . . Even though the tight ends barely show up on the stat sheet, they were more present than usual . . . The Wildcats had three trips inside the Tigers' 20-yard line on Saturday but finished the day with just seven points to show for it . . . After playing alongside the line and then watching film, wide receiver Anthony Schwartz was impressed with the offensive line's overall performance . . . Following its 29-13 win over Kentucky to open the season, Auburn moved to No. 7 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Poll, advancing one spot from its No. 8 ranking the week before . . . Auburn got it right in the second half with its adjustments, and the Tigers looked more like the team that finished 2019 with the nation's eighth-best third-down defense . . . The running backs picked up those 50 yards as they ran behind an untested, inexperienced offensive line . . . Although the first half featured its share of difficulties including an ejection for targeting, the Tigers were able to come out of halftime with a tightened up game . . . Auburn's head coach wore the signature Pat Dye game day attire with a navy baseball cap paired with an burnt orange and navy tie . . . College GameDay will broadcast live from Athens next weekend for an expected top-10 showdown between longstanding SEC rivals Auburn and Georgia . . . "This offseason, we've just practiced and practiced . . . Nix's start was inauspicious, misfiring on two of his first three pass attempts but soon found his rhythm on the afternoon . . . The limited fans in the stands on the Plains went wild, and all felt right on this fall Saturday in the South . . . Out of Williams' six catches against the Wildcats, the two biggest were the ones in the end zone, for both their impact and level of execution . . .
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