Auburn football handled business on Saturday by upsetting No. 1 Georgia in Athens, 27-24. Auburn won the turnover battle and shook off an early 14-0 deficit, two factors that have rarely gone Auburn's way this season.
Offensively, Auburn stayed on the field for 80 plays despite trailing in time of possession. It was the most offensive snaps Auburn has played since Week 2's win over Southern Miss, and the most it has played against a Power Four opponent. Auburn played 78 snaps in its win over Baylor and had not played over 69 snaps against an SEC team until Saturday.
Here is a look at the top 10 offensive snap-getters in Auburn football's win over Georgia, according to PFF data.
Freshman Wilson Zierer played the entire game at left guard and was
efficient in pass blocking, receiving an 85.1 in the category. Kenneth McManus, Stanton Ramil, and Cole Best joined Zierer in playing every snap. The only outlier on the offensive line was Jacob Strand, who took over the starting role at left tackle for Jo Simmons. Strand played 76 snaps at the position and was relieved by Simmons for four plays.
Byrum Brown played all but one snap on Saturday. He went down following a run and needed to take a play off. Tristian Ti'a filled in for one play and threw an incompletion. Tight end Jake Johnson also played the most snaps of his season. Johnson played 56 snaps on Saturday, one more than he played against Baylor, and he had not played more than 29 in every other game this season.
Defensively, the Tigers were on the field for 68 plays, matching their number from their game at Tennessee two weeks ago. Auburn shook off an early 14-0 deficit by creating three turnovers and holding Georgia to 113 yards rushing.
Here is who saw the field the most for Auburn defensively, according to PFF.
As expected, Elijah Melendez played every snap at linebacker for Auburn on Saturday. However, he was greatly supported by Bryce Deas. Deas played 65 snaps in Xavier Atkins' absence and received grades of 80.0 or higher in run defense and tackling.
Anquon Fegans was the highest-graded defensive player, receiving an 87.0 overall grade and logging an interception. He also recorded the second-most snaps among non-starters, trailing only Andre Jordan Jr. by 11 snaps, and played more snaps at safety than Eric Winters, who started the game.
Starters Chris Murray, Dallas Walker, and Champ Anthony played 30 or fewer snaps, while Jared Smith, Darrion Smith, Demarcus Riddick, and Jourdin Crawford all saw significant playing time despite not being named a starter.
Auburn football returns to action next Saturday at LSU. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Taylor Jones is the lead writer for Auburn Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky. FollowAuburn Wire on X andFacebook.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Who saw the field the most in Auburn's win over Georgia on Saturday?
