Following No. 2 Georgia’s 34-10 victory over No. 18 Auburn, Tigers head coach Bryan Harsin and a few of his players addressed the media. Here's a summary of what they had to say after their loss to the Bulldogs.

…It was plain to see that Harsin, who is in his first year at Auburn, was thoroughly disappointed—and wanted to discuss his own team rather than that of the opposing Bulldogs. Still, he gave credit where credit was due.

“Georgia is a very good team,” Harsin said. “They played well. They’re coached well. They made plays. They’re a very good football team—the type of team we want to be. We want to be in that position.”

…On the other hand, Auburn’s starting quarterback, Bo Nix, was seemingly reluctant to give much credit to the Bulldogs, who have defeated the Tigers in eight of their last nine meetings. When asked about the number of dropped balls from his receivers, Nix wanted to first “clarify” how close Auburn actually came to “hanging in with Georgia” despite the 24-point margin. For the game, the junior signal-caller completed 21 of 38 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. On 10 rushes, including getting sacked four times, he netted minus-16 yards.

…Trailing 17-3 late in the second quarter, the Tiger offense faced fourth down and goal at Georgia’s three-yard line while attempting to pull within a single touchdown. Nix threw incomplete, turning the ball over on downs. And although there was some contact between an Auburn receiver and a Georgia defender, no penalty was called—and rightfully so. Nix apparently disagreed.

“We had a chance in the back of the end zone. The [Georgia] guy completely grabs him (the Auburn receiver). I thought it should have definitely been a pass interference,” Nix said. “It’s just stuff like that we don’t ever get [called by the officials]. It changes the game. Obviously, if that would have been [Georgia], they (the officials) probably would have called it.”

…As for Georgia’s quarterback play, Stetson Bennett shined for the Bulldogs. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. In addition, he was the team’s third-leading rusher, gaining 41 yards on six carries. Harsin seemed impressed.

“You want me to assess their quarterback’s play?” Harsin replied to a reporter when asked about Bennett. “I’d say [he played] good enough, because he won the game. He’s a good player. He managed well. It looked like he made good decisions out there. He made good throws.”

…Georgia’s ground game totaled more than 200 yards for the third consecutive game, marking the first time the Bulldogs had rushed for 200-plus yards in three straight contests since Georgia’s first three games of the 2019 season. More impressively, the Bulldogs rushed for 165 yards (5.3 yards per carry) in the second half after being limited to 36 rushing yards (2.0 yards per carry) prior to halftime.

“I think they (Georgia) came out in the second half, in the opening drive, and they established the run. They did some different things, and we just didn’t play well,” said Auburn defender Chandler Wooten, who totaled eight tackles from his Star position. “Give them credit. They made the plays; we didn’t. That was the difference in the game.”

…Toward the end of the press conference, Harsin was asked if Auburn was a “rebuilding job.” And although the head coach agreed to some degree, he was more interested in discussing how his team needed to build a foundation for becoming an eventually consistent winner—as Georgia has done.

“When you look at a team like Georgia, Kirby [Smart] has done a good job,” Harsin said. “They got good players. They’re consistent each and every year. They have themselves in the mix, I think, every year [Smart] has been the head coach. And that model of consistency is exactly what we want to create here at Auburn.”