Auburn Beats Georgia to Get the Inside Track on SEC Title

With one game to go, No. 24 Auburn finds itself in a familiar position.

The Tigers, who have won three straight Southeastern Conference championships, moved back into position to win another with a 33-10 victory over Georgia Saturday night.

Jim Von Wyl kicked four field goals for the second straight week while the Auburn defense was suffocating Georgia. The Bulldogs managed only 221 yards on offense--including only 28 yards passing.

Auburn, 7-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the conference, moved back into the league lead thanks to Tennessee’s 22-13 victory earlier in the day over front-runner Mississippi. Florida, 6-1 in conference play, is ineligible for the conference title.

The Tigers can clinch at least a share of their fourth straight league title with a victory over Alabama on Dec. 1. Last season, Auburn beat Alabama, 30-20, for the conference championship.

Von Wyl, who provided all of Auburn’s points the week before in a 13-12 loss to Southern Mississippi, kicked field goals of 29, 19, 37 and 36 yards, giving him a school-record 17 for the year. He broke the mark of 16 set last season by Win Lyle.

Georgia (4-6, 2-5) lost its third in a row and will have a losing season for only the second time in the last 27 years and for the first time since 1977.

Against Auburn, Georgia showed only flashes of competence on offense. Greg Talley had two of his first four passes intercepted and was pulled in favor of freshman Joe Dupree, who provided some spark with his running ability, but completed only one of 14 passes for 11 yards. He rushed for 119 yards. The Bulldogs managed only 41 yards in the first half as Auburn built a 16-0 lead.