3 takeaways from Auburn football's 31-13 road loss to Georgia

Auburn had nothing to lose.

Going into its first road game of the season at 2-3 and facing the No. 5 team in the country, Auburn had virtually no expectations for the first time this year.

The Tigers were competitive against the Bulldogs for three quarters, but eventually Georgia's talent and depth were too much and they defeated Auburn 31-13.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Auburn had to be perfect

Hugh Freeze said it clearly the week before the game.

“It's going to take a pretty flawless game to have a chance of coming to Athens and upsetting Georgia,” he said on Wednesday, not ignoring the big challenge Georgia faced.

For a team that had major issues with turnovers in the first five games, a flawless game for Auburn felt like a challenge in itself. The difference between these games and Georgia is that the Bulldogs don't need mistakes to win.

That being said, an illegal change at third base on Georgia's first drive of the game and a false start inside the 10-yard line before halftime can be just as damaging as a turnover in games like this.

How come? Both of Georgia's first-half touchdowns were an indirect result of these plays. That gave Georgia a 14-3 halftime lead, and although Auburn held on early in the third quarter, Georgia never really lost control of the game.

Overall, it was probably still Auburn's cleanest game of the season. The first turnoverless game of the season was played, but the margin of error was so small that even small errors were enough to hold the Tigers back.

The attack could not be stopped

Just like earlier in the season, Auburn managed to move the ball.

Despite their mobility, the offensive missed a few opportunities. On its second drive of the game, Auburn ran 62 yards and got well into the redzone, but had to settle for a field goal.

Just like it's difficult to make mistakes when winning against a team like Georgia, you have to maximize every possession.

Auburn couldn't do that consistently, and mistakes like penalties and miscommunications often occurred.

Auburn's offense also seemed to lack aggressiveness. In a game like this, where there is nothing to lose and the other team has all the advantages, this can often lead to more risk-taking and offensive creativity.

Similar to Auburn's redzone field goal earlier in the game, the Tigers put together a nice drive in the fourth quarter trailing 28-10, but opted to kick a field goal from the Georgia 8-yard line shoot instead of trying.

Auburn performed relatively well throughout the game, so that doesn't mean the plan was bad, but against a top team it requires an extra level of creativity and aggressiveness.

The talent gap has not yet been closed

Auburn certainly didn't have a bad game against Georgia.

However, considering where both squads are, it would take a lot more than just a not-bad performance. The Bulldogs made plays you would expect from a team of their caliber, and when they did, Auburn couldn't keep up.

The Tigers were good enough to hang around. They executed enough to give Georgia resistance for three quarters.

But as was the case when Freeze was hired and started the season, the program is still being rebuilt. Could it be better than 2-4 midway through the season? Yes. But it will take a few more top-10 recruiting classes for Auburn to compete with Georgia.

Peter Rauterkus reports on Auburn Sports AL.com. You can follow him on X below @peter_rauterkus or send him an email at [email protected]M