Georgia vs. Auburn: Richt discusses injuries, strength of rivalry with Tigers

Georgia head coach Mark Richt addressed the media on Tuesday in advance of this week's game against Auburn. With a win, the Bulldogs would secure a spot in the SEC title game for the second straight season and keep their BCS championship hopes alive. The main discussion topic was the loss of senior wide receiver Marlon Brown, who tore his ACL in the third quarter of Saturday's victory over Ole Miss. He's the second receiver to suffer a season-ending injury in 2012. Sophomore Michael Bennett tore his ACL against South Carolina.

"We’re going to miss them," Richt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Marlon was a guy that liked contact. He’d get out there and block, and he was very difficult to cover because of his physicality getting off the jam or separating at the end of a route or whatever it might be. Michael Bennett was very much like that as well."

In addition, Richt noted the fierceness of the rivalry between the two schools. Despite Auburn's struggles this season, he won't make the mistake of underestimating the Tigers.

"This is the 116th time that we’re going to play Auburn, and they lead the series 54-53 with 8 ties," Richt said. "That’s an awful lot of games to have that even of a series, and it’s for good reasons because it’s a very heated rivalry. We don’t expect anything different."

Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. It will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.