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Kirby Smart and his team have a big challenge ahead of them this weekend as they take on Auburn.
The Bulldogs will have to prepare for 2 quarterbacks as Auburn continues to use the dual quarterback system with Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford. Both quarterbacks bring different games to the table, which makes defending them even more difficult.
Smart had high praise for the pair of quarterbacks in his press conference on Monday.
“They’re both really good athletes. I don’t think people give Payton Thorne enough credit for his athleticism and quickness,” Smart said. “Now, obviously, when you talk about Robby, you’re talking about a different kind of athlete. This guy is as fast as anybody we’ve ever played against, with size and a strong arm. So they do a good job of using — number one, their backs run extremely hard and extremely physical and tough and are hard to tackle. And you combine that with a quarterback run and it creates a lot of eye candy, a lot of misdirection. They do a really good job. Hugh always has done a good job of that.”
One of the areas Smart is emphasizing is the redzone, where Auburn can use either quarterback depending on what they need on the specific play.
“It’s an extra element in the red zone,” Smart said. “Every defense has an extra hat because nobody has to back up and play deep anymore. So it becomes really tough to get the ball in in the red area in our league, and Robby gives that you dimension. I mean he is elite at the plays they do with him down there. They’re really hard to defend because there’s so many options to it. They got good runners. They got good people to block, and then you add him to it and the fact he can throw, it makes for difficult situations down there. They do a good job with his package.”
Texas A&M had no trouble against Auburn last week, defeating the Tigers 27-10, and Smart and Georgia will be looking for similar success. Georgia’s defense has held strong this season, but Auburn will be another test.
The Bulldogs and Tigers will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
