Ahead of Georgia and Auburn facing off this weekend, their coaches decided to get in on the fun by exchanging shots through the media.
It all started with Auburn coach Gus Malzahn seemingly paying a compliment to the other side.
Auburn HC Gus Malzahn called Georgia “probably the most talented team overall in the SEC.”
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) September 29, 2020
For whatever reason, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was irked by Malzahn’s assessment. He referred to it as “coachspeak” and dismissed it.
“I think if you ask somebody the week of the game, the team they’re playing has the most talent in the league, and then the next week, that team will have the most talent, then the next week, that team will have the most talent,” Smart said.
“And that’s called coachspeak, so thank you Gus. He has the most talent in the SEC.”
Kirby Smart calls out Gus Malzahn for his coach speak, fires some right back at the Auburn coach.
Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry at it’s finest right here pic.twitter.com/ASVzomWWEE
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 29, 2020
“Well they have the most talent in the SEC, so I’m very concerned when it comes to their receiving corps and their talent level,” Smart continued.
“It always worries you when you play Auburn. They’ve got a quarterback that can get the ball to those guys, Chad [Morris, OC] is doing an unbelievable job of moving guys around and putting them in spots that they’re not normally in, so their skill level at receiver is really good.”
Things are getting interesting. https://t.co/JtIJSWaNyD
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 30, 2020
That exchange adds some intrigue to what already promised to be an interesting showdown.
Auburn enters Saturday as a one-touchdown underdog to Georgia, due in no small part to the fact that Georgia has absolutely owned this rivalry over the past decade. They have won six of the last seven and eight of the last 10.
Moreover, none of Georgia’s victories were all that close. The average margin of victory in those outings has been 20 points, and three of them were blowouts by 30 or more.
The big issue for Georgia at the moment is the quarterback position. Jamie Newman’s decision to opt out of this season left the Bulldogs in a precarious place, and it showed in the first half of their game against Arkansas last week.
The Lakers are bringing out their special jerseys. https://t.co/K8Bm1XuJSS
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 30, 2020
Much like Georgia, Auburn got better as the game progressed this past Saturday. Ultimately quarterback Bo Nix finished the day with 233 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 27 passing.
Will Auburn be able to buck a decade-long trend and upset Georgia in 2020? We’ll get our answer once and for all in just a couple of days.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.