3 questions for Auburn Football before the first road game against Georgia

While Auburn faces Georgia in Week 6 looking to avoid a three-game losing streak this season, the Tigers are also hoping to break a seven-game losing streak against Georgia.

Auburn nearly upset the Bulldogs last season, losing 27-20 after now-Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers showed some late-game heroics.

Both teams look different ahead of this year's clash and the circumstances are unique. Georgia comes into the game fresh off its first regular-season loss since 2020 and Auburn is coming off consecutive disappointing losses in the Southeastern Conference.

Here are three questions for the Tigers as they head to Athens:

Can Auburn make the game competitive?

Point spreads are the way they are for a reason. And there are plenty of good reasons why Auburn is a 24.5-point underdog against Georgia.

The Tigers are inferior in almost every aspect of this game, and it doesn't help that it's the first road game of the season for an extremely young squad.

However, it was the same last season too – apart from the fact that I had to go on tour. Despite being overwhelmed, Auburn went neck-and-neck with Georgia for four quarters and had a chance to win.

Both teams are obviously different from this game, but it gives a sense of belief to the players who were involved.

“You can learn from last year that we can play with the top teams in the country, and we've proven that multiple times,” Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said Tuesday.

Auburn's chances of winning the game are slim, but hardly anyone realistically expects Auburn to win this game. The bigger question is whether or not the Tigers can be competitive again.

After already three losses, no one in the Auburn locker room will be interested in any more moral victories, but a competitive game against Georgia would answer a lot of questions about the state of the team and whether or not Hugh Freeze can keep the group from spiraling.

Will sales finally end?

Auburn ranks last in the SEC in turnover margin this season — and it's not close.

Turnovers were the story of all three of Auburn's losses, with 10 coming against Cal and Arkansas combined and a game-winning pick-six being the difference against Oklahoma.

The Week 5 loss to Oklahoma was the first time all season that Auburn didn't commit multiple turnovers, but the Tigers still haven't played a turnover-free game. Against Georgia, even a flawless game may not be enough.

“It's going to take a pretty clean game to have a chance to go to Athens and upset Georgia,” Freeze said Wednesday.

Although Georgia's defense is impressive, it has only forced four turnovers this season, a much lower rate than Oklahoma did last week.

So far this season, however, it hasn't mattered who the other team is; Auburn deserves credit for at least a turnover or two. Last week felt like a small step in the right direction despite the loss, but can the Tigers play clean football away from home against a top-five team?

How will the defense overcome its biggest test yet?

Auburn's defense has been the team's biggest bright spot through five games, but it will face its toughest challenge yet on Saturday.

While Georgia's offense hasn't yet shown the consistency it has shown in recent seasons, it still has the personnel that can cause problems for any defense.

Against Alabama, the Bulldogs had more than 500 yards of total offense but turned the ball over four times. Despite the turnovers, it was Georgia's most productive offensive game of the season and showed how explosive the offense can still be.

A handful of true freshmen have earned significant playing time on Auburn's defense, and this will be a step up from the offenses they have struggled with thus far.

Given the inconsistency Auburn's offense has shown recently, the defense has no choice but to perform to keep the Tigers in this game. If things continue like they did in the first half of the season, it would be an encouraging sign for the future of the unit.

Peter Rauterkus reports on Auburn Sports AL.com. You can follow him on X below @peter_rauterkus or send him an email at [email protected]M