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No. 1 Georgia Upset By Unranked Auburn, SEC Title Picture Now In Chaos
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- No. 1 Georgia Upset By Unranked Auburn, SEC Title Picture Now In Chaos
The high of finally beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the regular season and rising to No. 1 in the nation barely lasted a week as the Georgia Bulldogs were stunned at home by unranked Auburn.
After last week's win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa combined with the Texas Longhorns' loss to unranked Oklahoma, Georgia found itself on top of the college football mountain for the first time since September 2024. Returning to Athens, they likely thought that 3-2 Auburn would be an easy win that would send them into their bye week on a high note.
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The Tigers, who entered the game as 19.5-point underdogs, had other plans.
With nearly 200 rushing yards from quarterback Byrum Brown and running back Jeremiah Cobb, the Tigers were able to wear down Georgia's defense with multiple sustained drives. On defense, they forced multiple turnovers and held them scoreless in the second and third quarters.
At the end of the game, a roughing the passer penalty at midfield turned what would have been a near-certain trip to overtime into a chip-shot field goal that Alex McPherson buried to secure the 27-24 win.
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks toward the field during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.© Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
Unfortunate history for the Bulldogs
With their loss to the Tigers combined with Texas' loss to Oklahoma last week, the No. 1 team in the nation has now lost to unranked teams in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 1990.
More importantly, Georgia's loss has sent the entire SEC title picture into chaos.
There isn't a single unbeaten team remaining in the conference and the only one-loss teams remaining are Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ole Miss. Texas and Alabama, who were ranked first and sixth last week respectively, have both lost back-to-back games.
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We've barely reached mid-October and we already have more chaos in the SEC just in terms of on-field results than we've had in a long time.
Which teams from the SEC do you think will wind up reaching the College Football Playoff now?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Oct 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
