AUBURN, Ala. – On both teams, there are skill players aplenty. Running backs, quarterbacks and receivers capable of explosive plays. Linebackers and defensive backs equally capable of denying them.
When the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry renews for the 124th time Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium, however, the outcome will likely be determined in the same location where it's been settled the previous 123 times.
In the trenches.
"It's going to be old-fashioned SEC football," Auburn senior defensive lineman Derrick Brown said. "There will be tricks here and there, but it's going to be straight line up and see who's got the muscle."
"A big test for us up front," Auburn senior offensive lineman Marquel Harrell said. "Throughout the year, we've been consistent, we've gradually gotten better each and every week. Their front seven is tremendous. They've got some big-bodied guys who are hard to move. Those linebackers are able to fit downhill. Great technique, sound.
"I like playing against really good teams, especially against Georgia, because it's a testament to the coaching and all of the hard work you've put in, especially in a rivalry game because one play can make a different between a win or a loss."
"I think it'll be a fun matchup," Brown said. "They say we're a good defensive line, they're a great offensive line. Saturday means you've got to prove it."
Like hundreds of Auburn football lettermen before them, Peach State natives Harrell and Brown crossed the Chattahochee River for college, finding a home away from home.
"When I came down here, I thought it was home," Brown said. "Being able to have the relationships I have with my teammates and my coaches, and see this thing come around full circle after four years. I couldn't have picked a better place to come to school. I've still got my same coach, really my same coaching staff. I have had endless opportunities to be able to enhance my brand since I've been here at Auburn."
Few things would enhance Brown's brand like a victory in a Top 15 SEC on CBS showdown. No. 13 Auburn vs. No. 5 Georgia.
"We know what's on the line. Everybody knows the stakes of the game," he said. "It's one of the biggest college football rivalries there is, and this will be my last time to be a part of it. I just want to make this last one a special one."
"It'd be like an early Christmas gift," Harrell said.
The last time Auburn hosted Georgia, the Tigers knocked off the top-ranked Bulldogs 40-17.
"We're going to play with chip on our shoulder," Harrell said. "It's the Auburn way. We're blue-collar, roll up your sleeves, get to work. That's just who we are.
"Coming out here with that same attitude, with the same chip. People can write our story but at the end of the day it's up to us to paint a picture."
"I remember it like it was yesterday."
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) November 12, 2019
🗣 @DerrickBrownAU5
As a HS sophomore on his first @AuburnU visit in 2013, the young man who would go on to create countless @AuburnFootball memories had a front-row seat to one of the program's iconic plays. pic.twitter.com/dUZeIGmAmX
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer