The Oldest Rivalry And The Closest

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The Deep South’s oldest rivalry looks a little tarnished.
   
When Georgia hosts Auburn between the hedges Saturday, it will be the first time since 1991 the teams have met with neither ranked in The Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs (5-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) are trying to become bowl eligible - which used to be a given in these parts - while Auburn (7-3, 3-3) is trying to build on a modest two-game winning streak.
   
The teams will be meeting for the 113th time in a rivalry that began in 1892 and has featured some truly wild games over the years. Georgia will be going for its first four-game winning streak over the Tigers since the 1940s.

“Overall it¹s a great rivalry game played for the 113th time,“ Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt said. “We¹ve won 51; they¹ve won 53. There are just a few points separating the two teams. We know the history of coaches who played at Auburn and coached at Georgia in Vince Dooley. Of course Pat Dye played at Georgia and coached at Auburn. You have coach (Rodney) Garner and coach (Stacy) Searels, guys who played for Auburn who are now coaching for us, and we¹ve had a few of their guys who have crossed over here and there.“

SERIES
Auburn leads, 53-51-8
      at Auburn     UGA leads, 14-9-2
      at Athens     AU leads, 18-10
      Neutral sites   UGA leads, 27-26-6
        at Atlanta, GA     AU leads, 5-4-3
        at Columbus, GA     UGA leads, 21-16-2
        at Macon, GA Tied, 2-2
        at Montgomery, AL   AU leads, 2-0
            at Savannah, GA     AU leads, 1-0-1
Last Meeting   UGA 17, AU 13
                Nov. 15, 2008 in Auburn, AL

Both teams are coming off Homecoming victories, as Auburn beat Furman 63-31 in its Homecoming game, while Georgia blanked Tennessee Tech, 38-0. Auburn leads the all-time series with Georgia, 53-51-8, and has an 18-10 edge in games played in Athens. Through 112 meetings, the two teams are separated by just 49 points (Georgia: 1,747; Auburn: 1,698). The road team has won nine of the last 14 games in the series.