Auburn’s 23-16 victory over Vanderbilt last week was definitely a physical affair.
Not only did starting QB Sean White sit out the first half because of a shoulder injury he apparently suffered against Ole Miss the previous week, Kamryn Pettway — the SEC’s leading rusher — left the matchup against the Commodores with what looked like a pulled leg muscle.
“After last week’s game, we were obviously beat up,” Gus Malzahn said Wednesday on his weekly SEC teleconference. “You know this time of year that’s part of it. You’ve got to find a way – just that ‘next man up’ mentality. We’ve got to get guys healed up.”
Malzahn is obviously hoping Pettway can be a quick healer. But his injury appears to be a day-to-day thing.
“He did not practice yesterday,” Malzahn said regarding Pettway. “We’ll see today. He’s healing, so we’ll see.”
Malzahn was asked how difficult it is to be able to get a player ready to play on Saturday if he’s not able to practice on a Wednesday, which might have been the case with Pettway.
“It’s not that hard this time of year,” Malzahn said. “Now earlier in the year, you know obviously especially being inexperienced, it would have been a challenge. But this time of year, when you’ve got as many reps and practice and game reps, it’s not a problem.”
If Pettway is unable to go on Saturday, look for the Tigers to lean more on Kerryon Johnson. And even though Johnson isn’t totally recovered from the sprained ankle he suffered against Mississippi State on Oct. 8, Malzahn is confident that the sophomore will be up to the challenge.
“You know Kerryon Johnson actually started the season and played extremely well,” Malzahn said. “And of course he battled an injury midseason, and he’s working his way back to 100 percent. And we’ve had Stanton Truitt run extremely well since we’ve moved him to tailback. And so we’re a run-play action team, so no matter who our running back is, we need to be successful.”
Georgia’s run defense this season has been quite successful under first-year coordinator Mel Tucker. The Bulldogs are allowing 118.2 rushing yards per game to rank third in the SEC, just a shade behind LSU, which is something Malzahn has clearly noticed.
“Well, they’ve done a good job against the run. They’re playing a bunch of guys. They’re playing some young, talented kids, too, mixed in with their veterans. But probably the biggest thing is that they play a lot of different guys and they keep them fresh, and that’s a big factor.”
“You can see they’ve improved. Anytime that you’ve got a new defense and young guys, they’re gonna get better, and you’ve seen this group do that. And they continue to improve.”
One thing Malzahn would like to see improve is how Auburn plays between the hedges. The Tigers haven’t beaten the Bulldogs in Athens since 2005, a fact that is not lost on Auburn’s head coach.
“We haven’t handled it (Sanford Stadium) very well,” Malzahn said. “I think the last time we won over there was 2005, so you know that’s going to be a big factor. Obviously, this is a new team, very new team with a new coach and all that, but in the history recently, it hasn’t been good for us, and we’ve got to solve that.”
Auburn also has to make sure Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason doesn’t solve the Tigers’ passing defense. Even though the true freshman has completed only 53.3 percent of his passes, he’s led Georgia to key road victories over Missouri and Kentucky.
“Anytime we play them, it’s usually an upfront battle, I mean on the line of scrimmage, so I think that’s probably where it’s gonna start on both sides of the football. And their quarterback, you can tell he’s a talented young man, and he gets more experience and you can see he gets more comfortable with the experience he has.
“That would be good if we could confuse him. That would be good.”
Malzahn was glad to put last week’s victory over Vanderbilt behind him, but he realizes that Saturday’s matchup against the Bulldogs won’t be any easier.
“Moving on, going to the road against Georgia, a very talented team,” Malzahn said. “We’re starting to kind of find out who they are. But they have a lot of talent, so we’re just looking forward to going over there and playing.
“The good thing is this is a rivalry game. You know it’s an important game, and a lot of times when you have those factors, you heal up quicker. So hopefully we’ll be as healthy as we can when we get over there to get ready to play them.”
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
