Has Georgia eclipsed Alabama as the primary rival?

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

Almost rendered 2013 nonexistent, ended any hypothetical playoff hopes in 2014, and completely shut that dream down with 2016, 2017 and 2019. 
 

factoring in them being in the East and the state boundary, I’ve felt they’ve been more of a bother for a while

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

To put it in a different perspective, Auburn:

1. reaches that ethereal 9 win barrier going into the IB 2 more times than they did 

2. they win 10 games in 2019, and break that morose decline in 2014 (maybe they get 10 then?)

3. They have a CFP appearance and a possible NY6 bowl in 2014. maybe another CFP appearance in 2019

I think they’re thought of in an entirely different stratosphere if you replace that game with like USCE

[gr82be 14,947]

Bama will always be our primary rival. Primary obstruction is what I'd call Georgia. When it comes to Georgia we've beaten ourselves as often as they've beaten us, at least it seems that way. I do believe that situation has been addressed and corrected. 

[SLAG-91 1,614]

Short answer to your question: No.

Saying that they ended our playoff hopes in 2014 and 2019 is silly, as we had two conference losses entering the UGA game both of those years.  Any playoff hopes we had in 2014 vanished in a barrage of self-inflicted wounds against Texas A&M. The loss at LSU in 2019 put the kibosh on playoff talk.

2016? A reach of Stretch Armstrong-ian proportions, as we also had two losses (one conference) entering the UGA game, and I don't recall a whole lot of "man, we could still make the CF playoffs!" going into that game, given how limited we were offensively at the time.

Now, 2017?  Absolutely.  Win that rematch in Atlanta and we're in.  

What irritates me most is that our results against them post-2005 have been abysmal...3-13.  More than a few of those losses have been non-competitive, too.

Against LSU in that same time span: 5-10

Against Alabama: 6-9

They'll never eclipse Alabama as our primary rival, but we for damn sure need to start beating them more often than we have been.

 

[NoALtiger 4,051]

Not for me, and probably a couple million more. 

[lutzcammed 471]

No....

[boisnumber1 2,977]

No, but I despise their fanbase as much, probably more.

[Win4AU 4,201]

I definitely feel the rivalry has changed in the last 10 years.  It used to be a mostly friendly rivalry but since the Fairly hits on Murray things seem to have turned for the worse.  Agree with other folks that Auburn has beaten itself just as much as UGA beat us.  Injuries in 2015,2016, and 2017.  Play calling and a bad throw/drop in 2019.  2014, 2018, 2020 only true beat downs.  Harsin’s #1 goal should be to move Auburn closer to 50/50 against UGA, Bama, and LSU.  

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,477]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Harsin’s #1 goal should be to move Auburn closer to 50/50 against UGA, Bama, and LSU.  

Respectfully disagree. If he doesn't have a goal of being closer to 75-90% vs them then he's not the one for the job.

[abw0004 10,340]

I have always hated thUGA more than Alabama so it’s always been that way for me.

[Win4AU 4,201]

55 minutes ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

Respectfully disagree. If he doesn't have a goal of being closer to 75-90% vs them then he's not the one for the job.

Sure but based off the past 12 seasons since Chizik took over, Auburn has been wildly inconsistent and unsuccessful against these 3 teams, especially on the road.  Last road wins LSU 99, UGA 2005, Bama 2010.  Wins at home have been hard to come by against these teams too.  These teams are also as good as they ever have been.  I think getting it back to where Auburn has a 50/50 shot every time would be a huge improvement.  You may have to add TaMu to that list soon as well.   

[AUght2win 7,095]

14 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Almost rendered 2013 nonexistent, ended any hypothetical playoff hopes in 2014, and completely shut that dream down with 2016, 2017 and 2019. 
 

factoring in them being in the East and the state boundary, I’ve felt they’ve been more of a bother for a while

They aren't more of a rival but certainly more of a momentary big brother. 

[W.E.D 11,071]

Yeah, No. 

Trust me, I hate UGA but Bama is #1. And I'm not coming from a Boomer 70s mindset 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

5 hours ago, SLAG-91 said:

Short answer to your question: No.

Saying that they ended our playoff hopes in 2014 and 2019 is silly, as we had two conference losses entering the UGA game both of those years.  Any playoff hopes we had in 2014 vanished in a barrage of self-inflicted wounds against Texas A&M. The loss at LSU in 2019 put the kibosh on playoff talk.

2016? A reach of Stretch Armstrong-ian proportions, as we also had two losses (one conference) entering the UGA game, and I don't recall a whole lot of "man, we could still make the CF playoffs!" going into that game, given how limited we were offensively at the time.

Now, 2017?  Absolutely.  Win that rematch in Atlanta and we're in.  

What irritates me most is that our results against them post-2005 have been abysmal...3-13.  More than a few of those losses have been non-competitive, too.

Against LSU in that same time span: 5-10

Against Alabama: 6-9

They'll never eclipse Alabama as our primary rival, but we for damn sure need to start beating them more often than we have been.

 

2019 - A top 5 win over Georgia and a top 4 win over Alabama (they would've moved up with UGA losing)??? the CFP committee would've had to eschew their GA and Alabama biases in not respecting that accomplishment enough to move us into the 4th spot 

I didn't say it was concrete playoff hopes in 2014, I said it was hypothetical. They were 9th going into Samford vs a top 16 UGA and had a #1 Alabama. remaining. I'm not going to list all of those scenarios, but there's a world where things break right, and it's not that hard to argue it with the SEC biases and Auburn being a reigning title participant. With 2016, the scenario you'd like to experience is one in which Sean White can still throw a football, but an Auburn that had a clear destiny to the SEC title and one of their 2 losses is to a #2 ranked team, I mean cmon now lol. I think it's very self-evident what I'm presenting there

 

The overarcing point is that the actual divider between a playoff/NY6 bowl contending season during multiple seasons came down to UGA. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Sure but based off the past 12 seasons since Chizik took over, Auburn has been wildly inconsistent and unsuccessful against these 3 teams, especially on the road.  Last road wins LSU 99, UGA 2005, Bama 2010.  Wins at home have been hard to come by against these teams too.  These teams are also as good as they ever have been.  I think getting it back to where Auburn has a 50/50 shot every time would be a huge improvement.  You may have to add TaMu to that list soon as well.   

They've lost to Alabama twice at home since 2010 and was the unfortunate byproduct of a national champion's supernatural will to win in 2009. I don't disagree with your premise, but it'd be dismissing our own very impressive streak of defending home turf against Alabama to say "wins at home have been hard to come by". LSU has 30 times our NFL talent and can't even boast being competitive with Alabama most times in Death Valley

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

2 hours ago, abw0004 said:

I have always hated thUGA more than Alabama so it’s always been that way for me.

And in admitting my biases whilst making this thread, I despise UGA while I don't for Alabama. I have Alabama family members, we've been superior to them in the H2H in my lifetime, and they've never been a barrier to a national contending Auburn team. I just don't view them as an actual detriment to Auburn being the best they can be. 

[Win4AU 4,201]

1 minute ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

They've lost to Alabama twice at home since 2010 and was the unfortunate byproduct of a national champion's supernatural will to win in 2009. I don't disagree with your premise, but it'd be dismissing our own very impressive streak of defending home turf against Alabama to say "wins at home have been hard to come by". LSU has 30 times our NFL talent and can't even boast being competitive with Alabama most times in Death Valley

2009 May have been the last time the talent level was comparable across the board.  AUsome almost.  Other than 2019 every win against Bama has been by one of “those” Auburn teams that we are famous for. 2010, 2013, 2017 were all Natty caliber teams.  2019 was a very good team.  I guess I just miss those Dye, Bowden, and Tubs years when you knew going in it could come out either way.  None of these teams were as good then but it still was a lot of fun.  Going into an Iron Bowl or game against UGA hoping to keep it close has hurt these rivalries more than anything.  People who say they don’t want to become Tennessee well look how long it’s been since they beat anyone.  

[Zeek 16,957]

Honestly I want to beat them more than Bama. So ******* tired of losing in Athens and losing to inferior teams. They've inexplicably had our number.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

5 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

2009 May have been the last time the talent level was comparable across the board.  AUsome almost.  Other than 2019 every win against Bama has been by one of “those” Auburn teams that we are famous for. 2010, 2013, 2017 were all Natty caliber teams.  2019 was a very good team.  I guess I just miss those Dye, Bowden, and Tubs years when you knew going in it could come out either way.  None of these teams were as good then but it still was a lot of fun.  Going into an Iron Bowl or game against UGA hoping to keep it close has hurt these rivalries more than anything.  People who say they don’t want to become Tennessee well look how long it’s been since they beat anyone.  

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but no one outside of a national contending team should expect to beat Alabama anymore. Dye wasn't going through THIS. Every team Tubs beat during the streak combined had less talent than their 2011 or 2018 teams, and certainly worse coaching. Even though OSU was incredibly hurt, Fields more than anyone, they ripped a new hole into that team that hadn't lost to anyone not named Clemson since 2018 (and that was one of the most celebrated upsets in modern CFB). They made that program look like kids 

 

For one, having 4 contending years alone should be celebrated, and for two, having four years where you were on the same tier as the best dynasty ever (and a 5th where you almost pulled the job off vs a natty winner) has got to be commemorated. It sounds like a little brother thing, I get it, but in 30 years from now, people will marvel at that situation. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

and all due respect to Coach Dye, this program probably isn't considered in the same echelon as the other regional powers without what he did. But he just didn't have to coach against Saban. Gus/Gene and now Harsin, they all deserve a different (not higher) props for signing up for this task, just like he did for going into the 80s with the idea that they could flip the previous decade around. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,122]

12 minutes ago, Zeek said:

Honestly I want to beat them more than Bama. So ******* tired of losing in Athens and losing to inferior teams. They've inexplicably had our number.

There's very few frustrations in life, and I've had quite a few in my relatively short time, that compare to your expectations and honestly (just IMO) love for something declining, just because you know deep down that it's almost impossible to get around this speed bump. And that speed bump is there every time you circle back around to point A. Outside of arguably the least replicable Hail Mary in sports history and the best QB to play college football, that speed bump ultimately won, even when the speed bump was a ******* pebble on the road that had no expectations of its own 

The guys win in 2016...with one touchdown...off a pick 6. Whilst being 6-4....The starting QB for Auburn finishes with a 2.0 QBR. There's only 3 losses I can think of that depicted Auburn as embarrassingly as that one did (and UGA is one of the other 3!) 

[Eagle-1 3,821]

I grew up in Opelika, but have lived in GA most of my adult life including 14 years in Athens. I have considered GA a most hated rival for years. Their fans are the absolute worst. They get the benefit of all the hype, and promotion in the entire state, including Atlanta. It's not uncommon to watch the Atlanta based news, and see the entire coverage of the sports segment be all about GA, while Tech the local school barely gets mentioned. (Sorry Golf.) I know Golf hates Tech, but after years of watching them get ignored in their own city my feelings aren't quite the same. I hate everything associated with that bunch in Athens.  

I love to remind the GA fans that Tech has won a Natty much more recent than they have😁

[JDUBB4AU 5,354]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Yeah, No. 

Trust me, I hate UGA but Bama is #1. And I'm not coming from a Boomer 70s mindset 

This ^^.       Bama = HATE . 

[Eagle-1 3,821]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Yeah, No. 

Trust me, I hate UGA but Bama is #1. And I'm not coming from a Boomer 70s mindset 

I hate Bama too, but their fans are so stereotypical it's almost humorous. 

The GA fans have Green Bay packer arrogance, with a Tampa Bay trophy case.

[DAG 35,048]

UGA is our daddy.  It’s weird . A friend of mine made an interesting point..it’s like Auburn under our previous coach was built to beat Bama but just didn’t have the pieces to match up with other top tier schools. A lot of this has to do with match ups. Last year we didn’t belong on the field with them.