Dogs battle to win

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia's win over Auburn two years ago will forever be known as the "blackout" game.

Saturday was a Green out.

Playing without star receiver A.J. Green for nearly the final three quarters, the Bulldogs rallied from a 14-0 deficit to topple Auburn 31-24 at Sanford Stadium. Georgia (6-4, 4-3 SEC) clinched bowl-eligibility in recording its first four-game winning streak over Auburn since the 1940s.

"This was great," Bulldogs quarterback Joe Cox said. "We know how we can play, and we know what kind of team we can be when we play well. It's been a frustrating year not living up to our own expectations. We've talked the last few weeks about finishing with a respectable record and having people say we were a team that didn't quit."

Caleb King's 11-yard touchdown run with 14:25 remaining gave Georgia a 24-17 lead, but the advantage lasted 14 seconds as Auburn tied the game on Demond Washington's 99-yard kickoff return. The Tigers got the ball back in a 24-24 tie, but Chris Todd was intercepted by Reshad Jones to set up a 39-yard scoring drive.

King capped that march with a 24-yard run with 6:52 left to play, and he and Washaun Ealey wound up combining for 164 yards on 28 carries.

Auburn (7-4, 3-4) entered the game ranked No. 25 in the USA Today poll, but the Tigers were undone by two Todd interceptions. The Tigers drove to Georgia's 22-yard line with just over a minute to play before losing the ball on downs.

Georgia played its first turnover-free game of the season, committed only four penalties for 29 yards and did not give up a defensive touchdown after the 3:15 mark of the first quarter.

"I've always said this is a resilient group," defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. "They've had a lot of bad things happen to them along with the good stuff, but they've been able to hang in there. I think we've had the best practices in the last three or four weeks than we've had in a while."

There was substantial booing less than five minutes into the game, when Auburn zipped 74 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and Georgia's first two plays from scrimmage resulted in a pass to Green that lost 5 yards and a false start. The Bulldogs didn't get in positive yardage until the final play of the first quarter, when a 7-yard run by King gave them 5 yards on seven plays.

The Bulldogs trailed 14-0 after the first quarter but halved their deficit less than two minutes into the second quarter when Cox connected with Israel Troupe for a 50-yard touchdown. It was the first catch of the season for Troupe, a redshirt sophomore who had four catches for 39 yards last year.

Auburn is off this week before hosting Alabama on Nov. 27, while Georgia hosts Kentucky (6-4) this Saturday night at 7:45 on either ESPN or ESPN2.