Georgia vs Auburn prediction, picks, spread, football game odds, where to watch, TV channel, live stream

The Deep South's oldest rivalry will be played for its 129th time when No. 5 Georgia hosts Auburn Between the Hedges on Saturday, a must-win game for both teams. While the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC) are the clear favorites against the Tigers, Auburn (2-3, 0-2) was also a big underdog last season when they beat Georgia to the finish.

Auburn led 17-10 in the third quarter, and it wasn't until Carson Beck found Brock Bowers for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 left that UGA took the lead for good with an uncomfortably close 27-20 victory. After back-to-back tough battles to open the league, the Bulldogs are hoping for a less dramatic outcome this time.

UGA found itself on the wrong side of a 41-34 heartbreaker at Alabama last week. The Dawgs erased a 30-7 deficit and clawed their way back to the lead, but Alabama scored late and made a stop to claim a 41-34 win. This came two weeks after UGA escaped Kentucky with a 13-12 victory.

The Tigers have lost in a row to Arkansas and Oklahoma and now must play three straight SEC road games as the pressure mounts on coach Hugh Freeze in his second season.

Georgia vs. Auburn: Need to know

Auburn's turnover problems: Auburn ranks last in the FBS with a turnover margin of minus-11. The Tigers turned the football away 15 times, including nine interceptions. In last week's showdown against Oklahoma, until the end of the fourth quarter, it seemed like they were making progress on that front. But with just over four minutes left and the Tigers leading 24-21, Payton Thorne threw an interception that Oklahoma's Kip Lewis returned for a touchdown. It was the difference in a 27-21 defeat for the Tigers, who now face an uphill battle for bowl eligibility. Up until then, it had been a breakthrough performance for Auburn's offense, which went without a turnover in the first 56 minutes of the game as Thorne threw three touchdowns.

Georgia also has problems: Georgia had its own problems with turnovers in its loss at Alabama last week, when star quarterback Carson Beck threw three interceptions and made a costly fumble. It was an unusually shaky performance for Beck, who had never thrown more than one pick in a game before. While Beck deserves some criticism, his gaffes were also the byproduct of Georgia's other problems. Facing a significant deficit early on due to their defense's inability to slow Alabama, the Bulldogs largely abandoned the traditional running game and were forced to omit it. A better defense would have allowed Georgia a more balanced approach. But even under less adverse circumstances, the Bulldogs struggled offensively against Kentucky. Beating Auburn may not require an above-average offensive performance, but Georgia will need to find an offensive flow soon with games against Texas, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 4 Tennessee still remaining.

Freeze's fiasco: Freeze is just 8-10 as he nears the halfway point of his sophomore season at Auburn. He came close against Georgia last season, and the Tigers also played close games against top-15 opponents Ole Miss and Alabama in 2023. But wins over Cal, Arkansas and Mississippi State from last season are considered his biggest victories to date. While Auburn signed a top-10 recruiting class in the 2024 cycle according to 247Sports and committed the fourth-best class in the country for 2025, there is little sign that the Tigers are actually improving on the field. Freeze's predecessor, Bryan Harsin, was fired in his second season with a 9-12 record. With road games against Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky in October, there's a chance Freeze's 21-game record will be the same or worse.

Here's how to watch Georgia vs. Auburn live

Date: Saturday, Oct. 5 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Sanford Stadium – Athens, Georgia
TV: ABC | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)

Georgia vs Auburn Prediction, Tips

Auburn is coming off consecutive home losses to middling SEC teams and now faces an upset Georgia team with a 2-3 record. The Bulldogs rallied from a 30-7 deficit at Alabama last week, but then lost in heartbreaking fashion. With Georgia playing at home for just the second time this season and facing a historic rival, expect Georgia to come out with the same intensity it showed in the second half against the Crimson Tide and cover that sizable spread can. Pick: Georgia -24.5

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