ATHENS, Ga. – The college football series between Auburn and Georgia will forever be known as the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.”
After this Saturday’s game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, however, it will no longer have the late-season impacts on the Eastern and Western division races within the Southeastern Conference. Next year, Auburn and Georgia will collide in the regular season outside of November for the first time since 1936, with the two scheduled to meet Oct. 10.
“It may seem more weird next year,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said this week in a news conference when asked about the impending change. “It seems real natural right now to be playing them this late. It’s kind of the routine.
“When you get to this point of November, it’s what you’ve got to get ready for.”
The league announced the scheduling change earlier this year, which followed a request by Auburn to alleviate the annual closing stretch of Georgia and Alabama that has existed for more than 50 years. The lone exception occurred in 2001, when the Tigers ended with Georgia, Alabama and LSU due to the rescheduling of the LSU contest after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.