Georgia travels to Auburn this weekend for the latest edition of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Both teams need this game, as Georgia enters 4-1 while Auburn is 3-2.
As is usually the case, a lot of the analysis around the game centers on the quarterback position. The Bulldogs will roll with Gunner Stockton, while Auburn is sticking with Jackson Arnold.
Neither has been elite this season, but those in the national media seem to believe Georgia does have an edge at the quarterback position.
Both Stockton and Arnold are capable quarterbacks with their legs. Each has five rushing touchdowns on the season.
“His legs are a really, really good weapon,” ESPN’s Greg McElroy said on the Always College Football Podcast. “Especially in the red zone and on critical third downs. He’s rushed for nearly 200 yards and 5 touchdowns this year. And depending on the game, he might be the team’s leading rusher.”
McElroy will be calling Georgia’s game against Auburn on Saturday, which is slated to air on ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET.
One notable difference in how these quarterbacks are discussed comes when they put the ball in the air.
Stockton doesn’t have the greatest numbers but he’s proven to be effective when putting the ball in the air. Stockton is completing 68.9% of his passes this year while tossing 6 touchdowns to 1 interception.
“As a passer, I think he’s been very efficient as well,” McElroy said. “I think he’s a better thrower than people realize. And while the numbers won’t necessarily jump off the page, he’s pretty accurate, he can stretch the field and he does have six touchdowns to his credit. He’s been clutch as well.”
Stockton did throw for 306 yards in Georgia’s road win over Tennessee. That performance is far better than what Arnold did on the road at Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
In the two games, Arnold combined for 345 passing yards while completing 60 percent of his passes. Against Texas A&M, Auburn did not have a third-down conversion.
Those showings have led to some pretty strong statements about Saturday’s game.
“I think if you’re Kirby Smart, if you lose this it’s pretty embarrassing to lose to Jackson Arnold based on what we’ve seen,” Bud Elliott of CBSSports said on the Cover 3 podcast. Oklahoma fans were right about what they’ve said about him. Based on what I’ve watched, this is bad.”
Elliott’s co-host, Tom Fornelli, did believe that Georgia had the edge when it comes to the offensive side of the football.
“Auburn needs to make this a low-scoring kind of rock fight,” Fornelli said. “And Georgia’s offense does not need to be perfect but I don’t think offensively they’re kind of starting to find a rhythm in what they’re able to do. They’re kind of sticking more to what they’ve been successful with instead of trying some stuff that maybe they weren’t.”
For what it’s worth, Smart was much more complimentary of what Arnold brings to the table.
“He runs like a running back. He runs over you, through you, around you, speed,” Smart said. “They run gap schemes with him. They run perimeter runs with him. And then probably the toughest thing to defend is when he drops back, and he ends up taking off running. So he’s a weapon, and they’ve got weapons around him in terms of the ability to throw the ball down field.”
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