That was a wild one in Jordan-Hare Stadium. It was one of the most exciting games Auburn has played in a long time and it showed a lot for the bigger picture of this program with the future there to watch it.

Here are our three takeaways from the 2023 edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, with Georgia surviving on the road, 27-20 over Auburn.

Auburn had a hot start on offense against the nation’s best team

Well, where did that come from?

Auburn could not do anything on offense against Texas A&M last week. It barely crossed 200 yards of total offense.

So you’d think going against a better defense and a better team like Georgia even though the game was at Jordan-Hare Stadium would be even tougher sledding, right?

Wrong.

This wasn’t exactly a high-flying offense, but it was surely an improvement over what Auburn showed in its previous two games against Power 5 opponents, let alone doing this against the No. 1 team in the country.

Auburn went three-and-out on its first drive of the game, very reminiscent of the game in College Station, Texas. But then Auburn went down the field and scored on each of its next two drives. Neither were particularly smooth drives all the way through, highlighted by a 61-yard Payton Thorne run and a pass interference call that set up Auburn to score after a Jaylin Simpson interception. But the scoreboard still read Auburn 10, Georgia 0.

Auburn found a way to run the ball in the first half when it was able to get to the perimeter. Auburn rushed for 145 yards in the first half. But it wasn’t able to throw the ball at all. Auburn had 28 passing yards in the first half.

Auburn also got the ball in the red zone three times and only scored 10 points.

But it got the crowd in the game early, and the crowd was in it all the way through.

Make what you will, Auburn gave itself a chance

A lot of times, when an underdog gives a top team a run at an upset, they’ll fade away in the third quarter.

That did not happen.

Georgia got the ball back to start the second half and Marcus Harris forced a fumble on the first play. Auburn quickly scored another rushing touchdown with Robby Ashford to go up 17-10. Then Georgia got the ball right back and appeared to fumble again. Turned out running back Daijuan Edwards was down, but the play gave Auburn momentum when it could have gone away.

It kept a very, very loud Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd very, much in this game when it probably shouldn’t have been given its inability to convert on third down and to throw the ball.

Auburn played such a weird game on offense, but it kept it close in a game it wasn’t expected to do. And it gave itself a legitimate chance to win this game. It’s among the most life Auburn has shown all season. Auburn had to get up for this game, and it did.

You got a great look at it: This is what Auburn wants to be

Here’s the big picture. This wasn’t a game Auburn was supposed to compete in. But it did.

This day was about a lot more than just the result of this football game. It was about showing off Auburn to the around 70 recruits who were here. It was about trying to find some sort of an identity on offense, and it was about seeing where Auburn stacks up against the teams it wants to compete against going forward.

Head coach Hugh Freeze has talked about his long-term plan to compete seriously with teams like Georgia and Alabama by year three or four of his tenure. It’s hard to get an emotional buy-in from a fanbase and a team like this every single week. It was so clear how much Auburn was ready for this one. But it also came in knowing it was undermanned. Purely from the eye test, the dudes Georgia has are a bit different than what Auburn’s roster holds.

And that’s okay, that’s how rebuilding a program is supposed to work. What this game showed is some hope for the future. There is a lot to critique from this offense still especially when it comes to passing the ball. But Auburn showed improvement and pushed Georgia to the brink.

At some point, the bigger, better football team was going to take over.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]