ATHENS, Ga. – This could be where it all pays off.
One of the biggest disparities in Saturday’s top-10 Southeastern Conference football showdown at Auburn is Georgia’s depth advantage at running back. The No. 2 Bulldogs – No. 1 again in the college football playoff rankings – will head to Jordan-Hare Stadium five deep at a position headed by the senior tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, while the No. 10 Tigers mostly will ride the legs of Kerryon Johnson, who is without fellow junior Kamryn Pettway for the rest of the regular season due to a fractured shoulder blade.
“Our stable of running backs is incredible,” Georgia senior nose tackle John Atkins said. “Our first two running backs go in there and soften them up, and then you see all the other guys come in and just run through a defense. It’s demoralizing.”
The Bulldogs continued their preparation for Auburn on Tuesday with a two-hour workout.
Georgia already has made SEC history by becoming the first program to possess 4,000- (Chubb) and 3,000-yard (Michel) career rushers on the same roster. Chubb has rushed for 867 yards and 6.2 yards per carry this season, and he needs 13 yards to surpass Auburn legend Bo Jackson (4,303) and move into fourth on the league’s career rushing chart.