Auburn head coach Alex Golesh knows his team faces a steep climb this weekend. The Tigers travel to Athens to face top-ranked Georgia as a multiple-score underdog, and Golesh has laid out what he believes it will take to turn that around.
A tall order on the road
Kickoff between Georgia and Auburn is set for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Few road assignments in college football are tougher than a trip to face the nation’s No. 1 team in its own stadium. Golesh has acknowledged as much, saying his players will need to perform at a consistently high level for a full game if they want to leave with a win.
The oddsmakers see a wide gap between the two programs. Auburn enters the game as an underdog by more than one score, so any upset would require the Tigers to play well above expectations and likely to benefit from a few breaks.
Handling the environment
Golesh has pointed to the setting as one of the biggest factors. Playing in front of a loud, hostile home crowd makes communication harder, and any slip in focus can snowball quickly. In his view, learning to handle the crowd noise and the atmosphere is a major part of Auburn’s chances. A team that cannot manage the setting, he suggests, is unlikely to execute its game plan.
That message is a familiar one for road underdogs. Staying composed, avoiding early mistakes and keeping the home crowd quiet for as long as possible are usually the first steps toward making a game competitive. If Auburn can stay close into the second half, the pressure could begin to shift toward the favorites.
What is at stake
For Georgia, the matchup is a chance to protect its standing at the top of the rankings against a conference rival. For Auburn, it is an opportunity to make a statement against the best team in the country and to show how far the program has come under its head coach.
A win would be one of the most notable results of the college football season so far. Even a close loss could offer Auburn something to build on, though Golesh’s comments make clear the Tigers are not traveling to Athens simply to keep the score respectable.
Looking ahead to Saturday
As the week moves on, attention will turn to how both teams prepare. Auburn will need to turn its coach’s emphasis on execution and composure into results on the field. Georgia, meanwhile, will try to avoid any complacency against an opponent that has little to lose.
With the game in Athens and the spread large, the odds are against the Tigers. Their coach has made clear that a strong, focused performance in a difficult setting is the only route to an upset.
Source: Yardbarker
