Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin spoke to reporters on Wednesday for the weekly Southeastern Conference teleconference, three days before the team travels to play defending National Champion Georgia.

The Tigers (3-2, 1-1) are a 29.5 point underdog against (5-0, 2-0) Georgia for Saturday’s (2:30 C.T.) game on CBS at Sanford Stadium. Harsin’s team is looking to recover from giving up a 17-point lead while LSU scored 21 unanswered points in the Tigers’ 21-17 loss last Saturday at Jordan-Hare.

Robby Ashford throwing for 337 yards and two touchdowns on 19 completions provided highlights and hope for an Auburn team searching for answers on offense. The Oregon transfer is the starter against UGA in his first road game.

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Ashford was T.J. Finley’s backup before Finley got hurt in the Penn State loss. Finley and Ashford split time playing time, but it’s been all Ashford since Finley exited the Nittany Loss defeat in the third quarter. Freshman Holden Geriner saw action during the Missouri win in the third quarter when Robby Ashford left the contest with a shoulder injury.

Ashford’s playing style is predicated on his elusiveness. He’s the Tiger’s second-leading rusher with 223 yards on 50 carries and a touchdown. Tank Bigsby has 326 on 69 touches with four touchdowns to lead the team. Zach Calzada is out with a season-ending shoulder injury. Finley’s status remains unknown, leaving Auburn with Ashford, Geriner, and former walk-on Trey Lindsey as scholarship quarterbacks.

Harsin said there is a fine line between letting Ashford play his game while remaining cautious.

“You’ve got to let these players play their game,” Harsin said. “That’s one of the reasons I think he’s improving; he can go out there and play the way he’s able to play. You must balance keeping him healthy and letting him be a football player.”

Harsin addressed several other topics. Here are some of the more critical subjects from the brief chat.

— Harsin discussed the challenges of going on the road. Auburn played the first five games of the season on the Plains.

“I think there is some unpredictability. Road games- number one, it’s hard to win; number two, it’s hard to win on the road. That’s why most places would like to believe they have a home-field advantage. But, when you get out on the field, it’s just football.”

“I think it’s just how you handle being uncomfortable; everybody is different there. We’re talking about it and different ways to handle it, but it comes down to each individual player.”

— Harsin complimented Ashford’s development as a starting quarterback.

“Robby has definitely improved, and I think depth, as the season goes on, becomes a factor, so you’ve got to have all of those guys ready,” Harsin said. “This last game, we did throw the ball in moments of the game well, and there is still plenty of things to work on from what we’re doing offensively to how we’re executing it. His athletic ability gives us a chance to have an advantage.”

“We’re not where we want to be, but there are improvements in that area that we think we can build on.”

— Harsin spoke highly of Auburn’s defensive effort in SEC play. Auburn held LSU to two offensive touchdowns last week.

“Overall, I think our defense is playing well and playing with confidence,” Harsin said. We’ve got to compliment that with our offense more because we haven’t. In at least SEC play, we’ve done some really good things on our defensive side.

“We’ve got to put points up there. We’ve got to score more than just 17 and give our defense a chance, with how they’re playing, that we can still go out there and win the game.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Grou[.