Auburn Packed Light for Athens
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 14, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Alex Golesh says his preseason All-American linebacker won't make the trip into Sanford Stadium's noise, and a road team that was already a long shot is now a man short.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
Alex Golesh stood up Monday and said, plain as a church bulletin, "We will be without Xavier Atkins this week." Saturday Down South reported it, and that one sentence took a preseason All-American linebacker out of the trip to No. 1 Georgia. Golesh didn't say much more than that. He said the decision would be revisited the following Monday, which is a coach's way of saying it can wait until after Athens. Whatever happened, it happened in the worst week a man could have picked.
Here is what Auburn is missing. Atkins has 3 sacks, and Kirby Smart told reporters that Auburn's defense under DJ Durkin is fast, athletic and aggressive and blitzes often. A defense that lives on blitzing doesn't want to lose its best blitzer. Georgia's sack rate allowed is 3.7 percent this year, up from 2.6 percent in 2023. That's the one number on the Bulldogs' sheet that looks like a soft spot, and the man best suited to poke at it will be watching on television.
A defense that lives on blitzing doesn't want to lose its best blitzer.
Golesh knows exactly what he's up against. He called Gunner Stockton "a really, really good player" who "makes a lot of things go" and "doesn't make a ton of mistakes." Then he laid out Auburn's plan: the Tigers "can't turn the football over" and have to handle the crowd in Athens. Auburn is 3-2, a multiple-score underdog on the road. That plan is the honest one. It amounts to hoping Georgia makes the mistakes that Golesh just said Stockton doesn't make.
Still, nobody in Athens should mail in the result. Last Saturday Texas was 6-0 and ranked No. 1, and it lost 27-24 to Oklahoma. Arch Manning threw two interceptions, one of which set up the winning drive: Oklahoma went 31 yards in 19 seconds, and Tate Sandell kicked a 47-yard field goal as time ran out. ESPN said that unbeaten start had been hiding problems. CBS said Texas threw away a win. Being No. 1 doesn't keep anybody safe for long.
The desk has Georgia at minus 20.5 and calls it a lock, and Auburn losing Atkins only makes the desk feel better about that. But a favorite gets in trouble when it starts counting the other team's injuries instead of worrying about its own. Smart called this one "an awesome rivalry" and said, "It will be an extremely physical game." Auburn will be shorthanded for it. Georgia's job is to stay humble, ignore that 20.5 until the final whistle, and remember what happened to Texas.
The Notebook
- KENTUCKY DOES IT AGAIN: Kentucky beat No. 10 LSU 35-34 in overtime after Will Stein passed up the tie and Kenny Minchey ran in the two-point try on a quarterback draw. It was Kentucky's second straight 35-34 overtime win and LSU's eighth straight road loss in conference play.
- TROUBLE IN EUGENE: UCLA beat No. 13 Oregon 17-15 at Autzen Stadium and stayed unbeaten. Without Dante Moore, Oregon managed only 242 total yards, and ESPN says the Ducks' playoff hopes are shrinking.
- SATURDAY IN ATHENS: Auburn at Georgia kicks off at 3:30 PM Eastern on ESPN. Elsewhere, the desk likes Miami at minus 21.5 over Florida State and calls it a lock.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
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