aubiefifty

this is one of the few times you have been honest. but no one out lies trump. no one...................

Rolling Stone Ryan Bort 10-12 minutes October 5, 2021 2:25PM ET Fox News and OAN Were Deeper in the Bag for Trump Than Anyone Realized Former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham and former presidential surrogate Rudy Giuliani admitted that some of the biggest hitters in right-wing TV were essentially state-run media Stephanie Grisham listens during a meeting with then-President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. Grisham spoke admitted recently that she "probably" was not truthful when she went on Fox News to represent the administration. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images It’s no secret that right-wing media was in the bag for Trump throughout his time in office, but their devotion to the the former president seems to have been more coordinated than they’d probably like people to believe. This is at least according to a couple of revelations to emerge this week about the relationship between Trump’s team and the outlets that lavished largely unconditional praise on the president and his agenda for years. The first bit of insight comes from Stephanie Grisham, the former White House press secretary currently trying to cleanse herself of her sins by dishing on her former boss — including that he likes to de-stress with show tunes from Cats — in a new tell-all book and requisite media tour. On Tuesday morning, Grisham explained to CNN that Fox News essentially worked in tandem with the Trump administration. “That’s just where we went to get what we wanted out,” Grisham said. “I looked forward to going and doing Lou Dobbs because Lou Dobbs would do all the talking about how great everything was and I would just nod and say yes. By and large they didn’t get tough with us. They just took what we were saying and disseminated it.” Grisham also admitted that she “probably wasn’t” truthful when she appeared on the network as press secretary. Very brave of you to admit this, Stephanie. Stephanie Grisham on how the White House used Fox News: "That's just where we went to get what we wanted out … By and large, they didn't get tough with us. They just took what we were saying and disseminated it." pic.twitter.com/qltmEzYvUk — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 5, 2021 When asked if Fox News was state-run media for Trump, Grisham hesitated, noting that the network does employ some legitimate journalists — emphasis on some. “I think certainly in the evening, yes, it was,” she acknowledged. “I think more importantly with OAN coming out … I think that is like state-run media.” Speaking of OAN, former Trump lawyer and current 77-year-old man who’s being sued into oblivion Rudy Giuliani said in a recent deposition that while OAN reporter Christina Bobb was volunteering for Trump’s legal team following the 2020 election (which in itself is … very strange), she had to run her stories by the Trump campaign for approval. “If she did develop a discrete, good story, she would have to run it past us so it didn’t violate any of our rules or whatever,” Giuliani explained in the deposition, which was conducted in August as part of a defamation suit filed by a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems, which Giuliani and others baselessly alleged may have had a role in rigging the 2020 election. Giuliani’s comments in the deposition were initially reported by The Daily Beast. “I was pretty comfortable they would live by it because they had before,” Giuliani added of the agreement the legal team reached with OAN President Charles Herring, regarding Bobb. “I knew she had tremendous enthusiasm for doing this and I always like to hire people with enthusiasm because they work harder.” As is the case with many, many things regarding Trump and his administration, all of this is deeply ironic considering how relentlessly the former president accused the media of working in tandem with the Democratic Party. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine these revelations stopping Fox News, OAN, and any other network that wants in on the action from coordinating with Trump once again should he decide to run for the White House in 2024, a prospect that seems to be growing more and more likely by the day. Newswire

Everything Kirby Smart said ahead of Georgia-Auburn ByJake Rowe 13-16 minutes Picks for every big Week 6 college football game We're a day closer to the 126th playing of The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. No. 2 Georgia will travel to The Plains to take on No. 18 Auburn on Saturday with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Each team has gone through two days of preparation and both are still alive in the SEC and National picture. Georgia has impressed thus far, winning three straight SEC games by a combined score of 139-13. Auburn has been up and down through the first month-plus of the season with a loss to Penn State, a close win over Georgia State, but and impressive road victory at LSU this past weekend. Kirby Smart met with the UGA beat via zoom after Tuesday's practice. It'll be his last press conference before the Bulldogs play Auburn and below Dawgs247 delivers everything the sixth-year head coach had to say. On prep this week and being limited in space. “It’s messy outside. We actually got to go out a little bit, which was nice. It was wet but it wasn’t unbearable. The problem with inside is the turf wears on your legs a little harder. You don’t like being on turf every day. You want to be able to go in and out, switch shoes in, switch shoes out, but we’ve had to be in because right now we’ve just got the one grass field. That’s been tough but the preparation has been great. I thought the guys had good energy, it was a good practice, although we’ve still got some guys who are banged up and beat up probably, I don’t know, as much as since I’ve been here. I don’t remember having this many guys injured at once since I’ve been here. But the guys work hard and they’re buying into the plan and executing it." Chance of getting Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Arian Smith and Dominick Blaylock back... “We have a chance of getting all three. They were out there running, hitting 18-19 mph. They weren’t running full speed but they were moving around. Rosemy probably has the best chance, but each one of them has a chance to make it back. But they’re not taking a lot of reps. They’re hitting walk-through reps but we’re going to see if they can clear by Thursday or Friday." On crowd noise... "It’s always a concern when you go on the road in the SEC and I can give you four or five examples of first road trips for teams. What’s wrong, is it’s not unusual to have 25 percent of your team that hasn’t been on the road for a true road game, now it’s at 50 percent that hasn’t been in that kind of environment due to Covid last year. So, you’re seeing the impact of that whether it’s our game, Kentucky-Florida, Alabama-Ole Miss, all the games; they’re all over the place. We try to teach and learn from it but inevitably you may have mistakes. You’ve just got to overcome those and not let one mistake compound things and make it work. We’re trying to talk about the threats to us not playing well, and talk about them, and conquer them in practice so you can go out in the game and play with confidence.” How close are Tykee Smith and Darnell Washington to 100 percent? “Tykee and Darnell are both working really well. We’re not limiting the reps anymore. They’re probably not 100 percent in terms of speed but they’re getting there. Being on the turf affects them, too. It’s a different kind of surface. With a foot injury, it bothers them more than probably anybody, but I think Tykee is much closer. He took more reps today. It’s not just ability. He has the ability, it’s him understanding the defense, getting back in, getting full speed reps. It’s different when you start covering a guy running 19, 20 miles an hour at you. That’s the biggest thing getting him back comfortable doing that. Darnell, he was really more effective last week than I thought he would be. He’s been able to take to take his reps this week so he’s moving in the right direction. The biggest thing with Darnell is getting him in playing shape.” On defensive line being so productive with non five stars Davis and Wyatt and then Carter and Walker. What’s key to that group? “The key is work and growth. Devonte Wyatt was not the player that he is now when he got there. I can assure you Jordan wasn’t either. Travon’s worked a long time really hard. You go back to his freshman year. He made some splash plays but he didn’t play first and second down much. He played a lot of third down. He’s grown as a player to be much better against the run. Being able to play first and second down. They’ve grown but that growth has nothing to do with what they were rated coming in. They’ve all improved. I think Tray does an incredible job of development. That’s part of football, finding the right person to recruit and then being able to get them and then being able to develop them. That’s a key ingredient that Tray has done." JT Daniels injury, comparisons to the other lat injuries, and maybe being able to finesse it more in practice... “I don’t know about it finesse it. My first question to Ron was is he going to aggravate it and hurt it worse by doing anything. He said basically it’s a muscle injury so anything that bothers it, you don’t want to do. Anything that doesn’t bother it, you want to continue to do. So he was able today to go out and do some soft toss and it didn’t bother it. That’s the same protocol they did with Dak. It’s not a complete shutdown. There’s exercises he can do in our training room that are bands and throwing motions and things that don’t hurt him. They don’t bother him. As long as it doesn’t bother him, then we feel like we’re getting improvement, gradual improvement. That’s the key. The last thing I want to do is push the envelope, re-injure and go back. Then a constant cycle of that. We’re not trying to finesse it at the point that, hey, we throw him out there. We’re trying to get him to do what he can without getting injured. I’m not the expert at that. I’m not the expert at that I can assure you. I do listen to what Ron says and we also consult with other people.” On the 25th anniversary of the 1996 game... "Yeah it was a tremendous game and a tremendous atmosphere is what I remember. Big-time comeback of epic proportions. It was a crazy finish to regulation. I remember that. And then I remember just didn't think you would ever stop going out there. And then we finally had a chance and ended up stopping Dameyune Craig on like a sweep. It was a wild game. I don't remember specifics because it was so long ago. Ferguson, about 330 pounds doing a cartwheel down the field. That's when I knew he was going to play in the NFL for a long time. Talented dude. Those games are always like that year-in, year-out." Defensive challenge of facing a mobile quarterback? “The defensive challenge of facing a mobile quarterback (starts to laugh) is how long you have to cover, and how creative you have to be. There’s plays that are eight seconds long. Our guys on average play, I don’t know, a three- or four-second play is a long time? An eight-second play is a long time. He can extend plays. He can win with his feet. Bobo’s really creative with quarterbacks that can run. Some quarterbacks who can run can’t throw. He can throw and run. So it adds an extra element that sometimes the designed runs are easy to defend than one that you think is a pass because it is a pass and then he takes off. So it’s tremendously hard. I don’t think people understand how good an athlete this guy is. It’s been reported to me he’s hit 22 mph on GPS. We don’t have but maybe two receivers on our entire team that can hit 22 mph. So he is a really, really good athlete.” Jack Podlesny and keeping his confidence up after a slot start... “Well he’s a hard worker. He has a routine he goes about, and he’s just a tremendous kid and individual and success story. I think the psychological disposition of kickers is always different from normal position players. He goes through, it’s like a hitter, you hit slumps, and there are highs and lows, and you try to always err on the middle, never being too high, never being too low. I think he’s brought himself back, he’s kicked really well. We’ve seen him kick more in practice than we have in games, and he’s been really consistent. Just great thankful that he chose to come here as a walk-on, and earned a scholarship. We’d be in a tough way without him.” Stetson Bennett’s back injury and how he’s looked this week... “He’s looked good. His lower back still bothers him, he has to get treatment on him, but it’s not to the point of affecting his performance. We just have to be careful with him. He’s done a good job of getting treatment on it, staying on top of it. He also has a bit of a knee laceration from last week, but it hasn’t affected performance or anything. But he’s done a good job. Stetson’s a savvy vet, he understands defenses, he’s very intelligent, a lot of the football he’s had to learn is through other quarterbacks, by sitting and watching them. I think he enjoys getting an opportunity to go out there and do the things he’s done.” On Adam Anderson, what makes him a unique player... "Size, speed, athleticism, great get off. He's just long and fast. If you start looking at it, the comparison for me is Leonard Floyd. I saw Leonard play for so long, recruited Leonard back when I was at Alabama, Adam has a lot of his traits. His biggest issue would probably be being able to handle bulk and weight and gained weight. He's gained a lot of muscle mass. I'm so proud of Adam's maturity, he's just matured so much. He's become a leader in the classroom over at Rankin (Smith Student Athlete Academic Center). He was a guy who didn't love school initially but bought into the program and all the things that go into it. He's a very special person in this program." On if they can hear Georgia fans on the road, what impact they can make... "It's always important. I doubt they're going to be able to take over the stadium. I can assure you that. The visitors crowd, at most road games there's a pocket of them. There's a small pocket of them, they put all the visitors together. I think about it in the Georgia stadium, you know where they are, and if you've got noise coming from there, it's probably not a good sign. I don't know how much they can impact the game, but they definitely impact our players and their momentum. You want to feel like you've got support when you go into a place like that. You know, a lot of kids play well on the road. They feel like it's them against the world. Sometimes that's the best mentality to have in these road games. But, to each player it's different psychologically." On how they prepare for noise on the road, usage of false noise at practice... "We use it every week. We use it for home games because our defense has to play with the noise and can't communicate. We do it in fall camp, and it's fun for the kids. Sometimes they don't want to hear me and Monken, us yelling at them. So they enjoy the crowd noise because it silences us." On UGA long-snapper Payne Walker... "We'd be in trouble with out him. Him and (William) Mote have done a tremendous job. Nobody knows their name until they screw up. Every good snap, I've never heard one of you guys say, 'man, Payne Walker did a hell of a job snapping this game.' Y'all are going to be the first one to bring him up if he doesn't snap it good. It's like a thankless job. He doesn't get an opportunity to be thanked for what he does because it's just expected, it's understood, and I don't take that for granted. The work he and Mote put in, they're great leaders in our organization. They do a tremendous job for us." Becoming elite at creating turnovers... "Been trying to figure it out for 25 years, bud. I'm still looking. If I can figure out that solution, I can bottle it and we'll both make a lot of money. Not going to give you coach speak, I don't know how to do it but I can promise you this, we're trying like hell every day." What it's like coaching Stetson Bennett... "I don't look at coaching him any differently than I do anybody on the team. I really don't. Stetson's got thick skin. He's a tough kid. He grew up in Pierce County. He's been coached hard. He's been reprimanded. He stands up for what he believes in. He argues his point. If he thinks he's right, he usually has a good reason for it. I appreciate the way he approaches things and all the quarterbacks. It's not a sensitive subject. If I think they're wrong, we tell them. We're trying to make them better and he's done that since he's been here. Kid has good moxy and he's got good confidence, got good composure. You don't see him real rattled very often and he handles success and ups and downs really well. I think he's got good wiring for a quarterback." ">247Sports

Auburn LB Owen Pappoe a 'game-time decision' for Georgia matchup ByNathan King 2-3 minutes Week Six Preview: Georgia @ Auburn (Late Kick Cut) AUBURN, Alabama — Derek Mason's defense is hoping to get one of its most important players back for a huge matchup with No. 2 Georgia. Starting linebacker Owen Pappoe has been limited but is "doing some things" in practice this week leading up to the rivalry game against Georgia, Bryan Harsin said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. "You can call it a game-time decision; we'll know before that," Harsin said. Pappoe has missed Auburn's last two games after sustaining a lower-body injury in the Tigers' Week 3 loss at Penn State. He had 15 tackles and two tackles for loss through the first 10 quarters of the season. The team captain traveled to LSU over the weekend but did not dress out. Pappoe was also limited in practice last week. A five-star prospect in the 2019 class, Pappoe's commitment to Auburn was a huge recruiting win over Georgia, Pappoe's home-state team and the presumed runner-up in his recruitment. "To be at home and have a chance to get back on the field, I know he wants to do that," Harsin said of Pappoe. "So I anticipate he'll have himself in a position to hopefully help us this week, and get out there and go play." 3COMMENTS Without Pappoe, and with Auburn's other starting linebacker, Zakoby McClain, having missed the first half of the Georgia State game after a targeting penalty against Penn State, senior Chandler Wooten has stepped up, with 25 tackles over the past three games. Additionally, Harsin said Wednesday that there are "no issues" with sophomore defensive tackle Zykeivous Walker, who left the Georgia State game with an arm injury and did not play last week against LSU. Walker came out of the locker room with his arm in a sling. ">247Sports

Auburn's offensive line is the most important key against Georgia Lance Dawe October 6, 2021 2:59 pm CT Georgia has dominated opponents in the trenches so far this season. The Bulldogs have been able to impose their will both offensively and defensively at the line of scrimmage. It’s a major area of concern for Auburn, who does not have the most stable pass protection, as well as a lack of an elite pass rush, especially with one of their best pass rushers currently out with an injury (TD Moultry). B-Wil of The War Rapport joined the Locked on Auburn Podcast with Zac Blackerby to talk about how the offensive line might have taken a small step backwards in the game against LSU. B-Wil: Up until the LSU game, our offensive line had played qualitatively better than it had last season. The LSU game may have been an outlier for the o-line because we were calling plays that forced Nix to do things he hasn’t done so far this season. He was running around making plays instead of from the pocket. We still run block very well. I’m still not too down on our offensive line, but we saw a lot more pressure against LSU than we had in the previous weeks. If Auburn is going to survive against Georgia this weekend, the offensive line will need to hold up for the occasional Bo Nix explosive play. Not for the entire game, because nobody can hold Georgia’s front forever, but for the occasional play to bring some momentum into offensive drives. The Bulldogs have been fantastic in both run stopping and pass defense this season. However, this may be the most hostile environment they play in all season. Auburn can’t afford to take sacks and stall out against a team that can overwhelm you at the line of scrimmage. The offensive line bringing their best game is key for Auburn’s success this Saturday.

saturdaydownsouth.com Rece Davis encapsulates the Bo Nix experience with a carnival story Keith Farner | 11 hours ago 2 minutes Rece Davis understands what many Auburn fans can relate to when he describes what’s become known as the “Bo Nix Experience.” The College GameDay host outlined how the Auburn quarterback’s play is part magic, and part erratic. “He’s been like a ride at a carnival,” Davis said on social media. “Not like a meticulously maintained Disney ride. He’s been like the traveling Tilt-a-Whirl where there’s a guy everyone calls Pops. He unloads all the pieces of the ride off a flat-bed truck and sets it up in a parking lot, and maybe he remembered to tighten all the screws. But the corndogs at the 7/11 smelled really good. So maybe he went over there and got distracted.” Then Davis described how it feels to be on the ride and said there are unidentified noises, your vertabrae gets adjusted and there’s adrenaline and exhilaration and euphoria. “You get off, and you’re like, ‘Man, why can’t every ride be like that,” Davis said. “Or maybe the safety bar flies off and you end up rear end over tea kettle out on the pavement. That’s sort of the Bo Nix experience and I absolutely love him for it.” Davis said he loves Bo Nix, because he believes that it might go awful, but he believes the next play will go great. When the Deep South’s oldest rivalry is renewed, hang on tight! @AuburnFootball @GeorgiaFootball https://t.co/dQFp3rT2uB pic.twitter.com/KdTTA4S9Jp — Rece Davis (@ReceDavis) October 6, 2021

2 Minute Drill: Keys for Auburn offense vs. Georgia AUBURN, Alabama–Asked about the development of the wide receivers as a group and Elijah Canion in particular, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said the receivers are a work in progress heading into Saturday’s SEC football matchup against Georgia, Auburn's oldest rival. Harsin extended his remarks Wednesday on the weekly SEC coaches teleconference to include basically every position on the roster needing to get better. The No. 18 Tigers, 4-1 and 1-0 in the SEC, will play host to No. 2 eorgia at 2:30 p.m. CDT on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the league. “That group continues to be a work in progress,” Harsin said about the receivers, who are led by sophomore Kobe Hudson’s 14 catches for 217 yards and one touchdown this season. “Most every position group on this team is that same way.” Shedrick Jackson has 14 catches for 173 yards and one score, Demetris Robertson has 17 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns, Ja’Varrius Johnson has six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, Malcolm Johnson has three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, Canion has four catches for 46 yards and the other wide receiver with a reception is Ze’Vian Capers with four catches for 35 yards. Asked about Canion not being on the travel roster for Auburn’s win at LSU last Saturday, Harsin said, “Elijah needs to get himself into the mix. He is out there, he is practicing and has every opportunity, like everybody else, to put themselves into a position to play. At the end of the day, we are still competing in practice. We are still doing things to try to get the best players on the field, the guys who deserve to play, the guys who have worked hard to put themselves in a position to play." Auburn’s starting quarterback, Bo Nix, confirmed that Harsin is pushing players hard to sweat the details. “It is at an all-time high,” Nix said. “Obviously, when it comes to coaching he is relentless when it comes to the details. You can always get better at something and he is making sure that we are seeing those things and working on those things. It is really easy to be comfortable where you are at not getting any better.” Eric Kiesau is shown at Tiger Stadium prior to his first game as Auburn's wide receivers coach. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, Inside the Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) Georgia is coming of back-to-back shutout SEC victories - 37-0 over Arkansas and 62-0 over Vanderbilt.. Harsin said he wants his team to do everything possible this week to get ready for the Bulldogs. “That is one of the things we have got to continue to keep getting better at here in this program–that is understanding the importance of practice,” Harsin said. “There is not a player in America that doesn’t want to play in a game, but the guys who are going to be the most successful, and the dudes that love football, they practice, they study and they do things every single day, not to just get better for the game, but getting better for that day because they want to perform. “Not everybody does that in every group on this football team and every position on the team is a work in progress because we don’t have that from every single group consistently.” Harsin said he wants to get to the point where “iron sharpens iron” in practices. “We are not there yet. That has got to continue to be something that is focused on and is important to every coach and player in this program because you just don’t show up, you don’t roll a ball out there and go play a game. 58COMMENTS “You have got to work your ass off every single day. When guys understand that and you put that amount of time in, and you put that much intensity into something you are really trying to prepare for and be great at, then come game times that is the fun part. That is where you get to go out there and really just execute all of these young have already been doing. “That is the challenge for all position groups, for everybody in this program–that sense of urgency of what it really takes to go out there and play like we all want to, but you have got to do the work. That is what we are focusing on and challenging everybody in our program on every single day.” ">247Sports

i am pretty sure they meant heart. bo has never been a big numbers guy. what kind of auburn fan quits reading something positive over bo when he did in fact have one of the greatest games of his career? he broke the curse damn near single handedly and yet here you are throwing shade.

ya know since we have that big ol jumbo screen lets show some pups in heat to see if it serves as a distraction. lol

i am sure bo wants it as bad as anyone and i would be surprised if he does not have a better game than other qb's have against them but if we do not have a ground game i think we are toast.

is it not possible they have improved tj as well? these guys have scored more on defense than they have allowed against their defense so i am not certain if any QB on any team is not a sitting duck against those guys.

Auburn football: Greg McElroy credits Bryan Harsin for sticking with Bo Nix ByChance Linton 3-4 minutes Auburn quarterback Bo Nix delivered one of the biggest performances of his career on Saturday night to lead the Tigers to a 19-17 win over LSU in Baton Rouge, marking the program’s first win at Tiger Stadium since 1999. The junior signal-caller completed 23 of 44 passes for 255 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while rushing for a team-high 74 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. He engineered a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to help Auburn erase a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit, earning co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts. The performance comes just one week after Nix was benched in favor of LSU transfer T.J. Finley, who rallied the Tigers in the second half for a 34-24 win over Georgia State. But Nix remained in the starting lineup, and SEC Network college football analyst Greg McElroy praised first-year head coach Bryan Harsin for his decision to stick with the veteran quarterback. “I think the moral of the story last week is just when you're ready to write a player off, take your time,” McElroy said Monday on the Paul Finebaum Show. “The coaches know what they're doing, and I think everyone that I talked to on the radio, and everyone that probably was listening to your show that supported Auburn, they want a changing of the guard at quarterback last week or the vast majority did. “And they were wrong, because Bo Nix, right now, and his mobility is what actually gives this Auburn offense some unpredictability. And him being able to run around and create is not something I want to rely on down in and down out. But I think that athleticism can get you out of a jam, especially when your offensive line, for the most part, has been very, very mediocre this year. “So I thought it was a good move to keep him in the lineup, and I also think that he showed you why this past weekend. I was so happy for him; him being able to bounce back and being able to deliver on the road for the first time in over 20 years." With the win, Auburn improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. The No. 18 Tigers return home this week to host the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0 SEC) on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. CLICK HERE to download the CBS Sports Mobile App and get the latest on your team today. A former five-star recruit out of Pinson Valley High School in Pinson, Ala., Nix was ranked as the No. 33 overall prospect and No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the country for the 2019 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He was also the third-ranked player in Alabama. ">247Sports

Can Auburn solve the puzzle that is Georgia’s daunting defense? By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 5-7 minutes Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis (99) watches from the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP Bryan Harsin accomplished something in his first season that no Auburn coach did in 22 years when his team defeated LSU down in Baton Rouge, La., last week. Now, for an encore, Harsin and his team will be tasked with trying to do something no team has been able to do yet this season — solve Georgia’s defense. It’s a tall order for No. 18 Auburn (4-1, 1-0 SEC) in this year’s edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, as No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 3-0) rolls into Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend with the nation’s most intimidating defense. The Bulldogs lead the country in allowing just 4.6 points per game, and their defense has made a mockery of the team’s first five opponents this season — holding Clemson to a field goal in Week 1 and then posting back-to-back SEC shutouts the last two weeks. “They’re playing at a high level,” Harsin said. “So, that’s going to be a great challenge for our offense, as we put together a plan to go out there put together and try to score points.” Through five games, Georgia’s defense has scored more touchdowns (two) than it has surrendered. The lone touchdown the unit has allowed was a 36-yard pass in the fourth quarter against South Carolina in Week 3 (the only other touchdown scored against Georgia this season came in Week 2, when UAB had a pick-six). The unit has suffocated opposing offenses, allowing just 3.38 yards per play (tops in the nation) while racking up 18 sacks and, according to The Athletic, getting a stop on 93 percent of all drives this season. The defense has been so dominant that South Carolina coach Shane Beamer guffawed that Georgia has “like 100 five-star football players” on defense. While clearly an exaggeration, the Bulldogs’ defense is still loaded, and it’s spearheaded by a front seven that includes six former five-star prospects in its two-deep, including a trio of them starting at linebacker with Nakobe Dean, Adam Anderson and Nolan Smith. The defensive line is anchored by a 340-pound behemoth nose tackle in Jordan Davis, with a pair of blue-chip prospects on either side of him in Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt. “Yeah, their front seven is really good,” Harsin said. “Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean — those guys are really good players. They’re physical up front.” Cracking that puzzle will be the most difficult task to date for Auburn’s offense, as Harsin and his offensive staff will try to scheme against a daunting Georgia defense that hasn’t allowed a point in its las 26 drives. Of course, scheming against such a talented and dominating defense is no walk in the park; Harsin knows it’s going to take more than just X’s and O’s—it’s going to require some noteworthy individual efforts from Auburn’s offensive line, tight ends and running backs when it comes to blocking assignments, as well as sound execution from the rest of the offense. “You’re going to have to win some of those one-on-one matchups,” Harsin said. “They do have very good depth, they’re very good up front. You still have to scheme for that, so you just can’t give up on that because they have good players, and they have depth. You’re going to scheme, you’re going to have a plan and then you’re going to work on the things that you have to do that week in order to make that play or that plan you have with your offense successful.” Part of that plan for Auburn, of course, will be trying to establish the run game against a Georgia defense limiting opponents to 70 yards per game on the ground and just 2.35 yards per carry. Auburn ranks 13th nationally in rushing offense at 238.2 yards per game and second nationally in yards per carry with 6.81, but it’s coming off a game in which it struggled to get things going between the tackles against LSU. Still, Auburn found its ground game when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, and as Harsin said afterward, “at some point, the run game is going to be there.” “Everybody wants to try to run the football, and so you still want to be able to run it,” Harsin said. “You’ve got to be able to handle those guys up front. We’ve got to do a great job at O-line, tight ends being able to get up to those linebackers as well so you can run it. So that just in itself is a challenge.” But it’s one Auburn feels it is prepared to take on, as daunting as it may seem, after early-season tests against Penn State and LSU, and even a quality Georgia State defensive front. The Tigers understand that it won’t be possible without winning some of those one-on-one matchups up front, though. “That’s why you do individual (drills),” Harsin said. “That’s why you spend time in the weight room. That’s why you do all those things, so at some point when you get a one-on-one, that’s your chance to use some of the techniques and things you learn, but it’s also -- you just as a football player. That’s your chance to try to win that one-on-one, and that’s a great challenge and I think why a lot of guys play the game, is we get in those moments. ‘Hey, it’s me and you,’ and you get to go out there and challenge yourself to try to win those battles.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

third is what we call top shelf around here.

i love that song on the video and this is it. i have never heard of these guys

i played one year of AYA football in germany and we always just got our ass chewed at halftime. first year we had a football team and still came in second place. i sucked. i did however recover a fumble and was running for a touchdown and my own damn teammate tackled me. my own man and he stold my glory............lol. i am not sure i have ever seen my mom and stepdad laugh so hard in their life.

yeah you soured on me over clark comments which were all true. he hates auburn and he refused to let auburn coaches talk to his players and he steered every single auburn lean he could back to bama. i am not mad but good grief.

you talk too much.............

i was just reading about eku and he has three or four sacks and several hurries. i have only heard his name mentioned once during games. but i am so tired of playing behind the eight ball so to speak. i want a full compliment of great players with a full roster so basically all we have to worry about is schemes. it seems like we are always lacking somewhere. i have no doubt we get it corrected but it sure does wear on me.

we are gonna be having little bo's running around for years to come.

well brother i am high and mellow so i was laid back about it lol

he looked so much better after tj played. he was not perfect but he was a young god on the field. that might be the best game of his life so far. if he gets a little better throwing and our receivers drop less watch out!. right now i would have to say bobo and harsin have done wonders with this young man. i think if he stays another year and we get him some help on the team we roll. anyway i am glad bo will always be part of auburn lore with that win. when you go in and make lsu look silly at their home and a night game you have done something.