Nestled 156 miles southeast of Tuscaloosa and 180 miles southwest of Athens, Ga., Auburn has had a unique vantage point in the SEC over the years as its two biggest rivals have climbed to the top of the college football ladder.

Auburn is one of just two teams in the league that faces both Alabama and Georgia annually, with Tennessee being the other, in the SEC’s current eight-game format with one permanent cross-division rival. So, every year, the Tigers have had to go up against Nick Saban’s Tide at the peak of their powers while also going head-to-head annually with the behemoth Kirby Smart has built at Georgia, where the Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships.

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Since Auburn last won the national title in 2010, its two biggest rivals have combined to win seven of the last 12 championships — five for Alabama between 2011-2020 before Georgia’s consecutive College Football Playoff titles the last two years. Given the success of both programs, and particularly the Bulldogs’ recent surge to become the first team since the Tide in 2011-12 to go back-to-back, it begs the question: Has Georgia surpassed Alabama as college football’s top dog?

“I don’t know,” former Auburn defensive lineman Colby Wooden said this week at the NFL Combine. “I feel like it’s still neck and neck. You can never count Saban out, but Georgia’s definitely up there. If they let them do something this year, then we can revisit that.”

Wooden, of course, has seen both programs firsthand over the last four years while at Auburn—and even before that. Smart recruited him to Georgia when he was coming out of Archer High in Lawrenceville, Ga., in 2019. He received a scholarship offer from the Bulldogs as a sophomore and took an unofficial to the campus after his junior season, before he ultimately committed to the Tigers as a four-star defensive end.

In the years since his recruitment, Wooden faced Georgia and Alabama a combined eight times, seeing the field in all but one of those games (the Georgia matchup in 2019 as a true freshman). Auburn went 0-4 against Georgia during that span, as the Bulldogs have a current six-game winning streak in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, while the Tigers went 1-3 against the Tide, with a win in the high-scoring 2019 Iron Bowl and a four-overtime loss in the 2021 edition of the game.

“(Georgia) being our rivals, our oldest rivalry, I can’t say too much because we lost all four years, so year, watching Georgia I can definitely speak firsthand that they definitely deserve being two-time champions,” Wooden said. “They definitely work hard at what they do. Kirby recruited me out of high school, so I know what type of program he runs over there. Everything he said came to fruition.”

Owen Pappoe was at Auburn with Wooden during those four seasons. Another Georgia native, the former five-star linebacker was heavily recruited by both Georgia and Alabama as the top-rated linebacker in the 2019 class. He committed to Auburn as the nation’s No. 25 overall recruit, choosing the Tigers over the home-state Bulldogs, and he became a four-year starter on the Plains.

While Alabama is arguably Auburn’s biggest rival, the Georgia game was a bit more personal for guys like Pappoe who grew up in the Peach State. While Auburn’s 0-4 record against Georgia was tough to swallow, Pappoe couldn’t help but admire what the Bulldogs have accomplished and the machine Smart has built in Athens.

“Man, I think the whole world knows what makes them special,” Pappoe said. “They do everything well. They have a really good defense, great players on offense. Just a well-rounded team. They play well together, play for each other. They love Kirby Smart. Every time you go out there and line up against them, you know you’re going to get their best, so you got to be on you’re A-game.

“It was cool to see what they did these last two years, though, to win those back-to-back championships.”

Despite Georgia’s consecutive titles and 29-1 record over the last two years, Pappoe wasn’t quite ready to say the Bulldogs have surpassed the Tide for supremacy in the sport.

“You’re trying to make me go viral or something,” Pappoe laughed. “I think they’re on the way, for sure.”

Former Georgia players at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis weren’t as eager to acknowledge their program’s place in the college football hierarchy, even though they played significant roles in the Bulldogs’ quest for back-to-back titles.

Georgia outside linebacker Robert Beal Jr. said Alabama is still a dominant team that “could beat you at any time,” regardless of its record. That’s evidenced by the Tide’s 3-1 record against the Bulldogs during Beal’s time in Athens. That included a pair of SEC Championship game wins for Alabama against Georgia. Of course, the Bulldogs got the most recent laugh, winning the 2021 national title against the Tide and then defending their crown last fall despite not facing Alabama.

“I feel like we’re real high up on the pedestal,” Beal said. “I feel like teams are really chasing us. I feel like over the years we get better and better, and now we’re just up there.”

Former Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith, meanwhile, believes any discussion of Georgia surpassing Alabama for the sport’s top spot is “crazy” — and an attempt to add fuel to the fire for the Tide following the Bulldogs’ recent run of success.

“Alabama is a great team, man,” Smith said this week. “I’m smarter than that, man. You’re trying to set me up for failure. Nick Saban is one of the best coaches ever. Are you crazy? They will always be a contender; they will always be in it. I’m gonna stand up here and not say RTR, but I’m just gonna say they’re a great program.

“If anything, Bama and Georgia are equally equivalent at the time. I wouldn’t even say that — they have more rings than us.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.