AUBURN, Ala. -- Gus Malzahn was all smiles in the Auburn locker room after Saturday's game with top-ranked Georgia.

For good reason.

His 10th-ranked Tigers obliterated the Bulldogs 40-17, knocking the nation's No. 1 team out of the ranks of the unbeatens, and setting Auburn up for a possible spot in the four-team playoff at season's end.

"They've trashed everybody they've played up front and those running backs have run wild on everyone," Malzahn said. "Hats off to our defense against one of the nation's top rushing teams."

Indeed.

The Tigers held Georgia's running game - which averaged 279.3 yards coming in -- to a mere 46 yards and harassed quarterback Jake Fromm into a 13-of-28 afternoon for 184 yards, sacking the freshman four times.

"When you're a good unit you get tired of hearing about individual players," Auburn linebacker Deshaun Davis said. "A lot of people told us that we had poor linebacker play this year and they were gonna run all over us, run for 300 yards."

As a result, the Tigers (8-2, 6-1 SEC) now have plenty to play for.

Despite two losses, Auburn remains alive for a playoff spot of its own, assuming of course the Tigers can win their final two regular-season games, including Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and beat Georgia (9-1, 6-1) again in the SEC Championship.

The Bulldogs are by no means out, but must beat Kentucky, Georgia Tech and win the SEC title at Mercedes Benz-Stadium to do so.

"I think this team will answer and respond the right way because we've got some good leaders in that room," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "They want to improve what they just showed.'

One things for sure, Georgia will have to play much better than they did against the Tigers, who dominated the game in most every way possible.

Quarterback Jarrett Stidham and running back Kerryon Johnson accounted for most of the damage. Stidham (16 of 23, 214 yards) passed for three scores and rushed for another while Johnson kept the chains moving by rushing 32 times for 167 yards and converting a 55-yard screen pass into a touchdown for Auburn's final points.

Daniel Carlson chipped in with a quartet of field goals.

"They were more physical than us on both sides of the ball," Smart said. "Give Auburn a lot of credit."

Georgia scored first on a 1-yard run by Nick Chubb. Its other points came on a 47-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Fromm to Riley Ridley, who earlier dropped a sure touchdown pass in second quarter.

Mistakes didn't help Georgia's cause, although they certainly didn't result in the final outcome.

Trailing 16-7 at half, the Bulldogs stopped Auburn and forced a punt on the first possession of the third, only to have Mecole Hardman muff the punt at the Bulldogs' 23. Three plays later, Stidham ran in from the 7 for a 23-7 lead before throwing a 32-yard pass to Ryan Davis put the game out of reach.

"They dominated us," Bulldogs running back Sony Michel said. "We've just got to get back to work, starting tomorrow."

Georgia's best offensive possession turned out to be its first. The Bulldogs drove 70 yards on just eight plays, capped off by a 1-yard run by Chubb out of a direct snap.

Otherwise, it was all Auburn, which used field goals of 54, 37 and 30 yards by Carlson, followed by a 42-yard scoring pass to Darius Slayton for a 16-7 halftime lead.

Chubb finished with 27 yards and Michel had 21.

"Holding a team like Georgia under 50 yards, that's big with the great backs they've got over there," Auburn defensive end Greg Holland said. "Their backfield is great but I think we played great. We filled those gaps and we stopped that run."

Auburn returns to action on Saturday for a non-conference game against Louisiana-Monroe, while Georgia, which has already clinched the SEC East, hosts Kentucky in the final home game of the season.

NOTES: Auburn K Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal in the first quarter was his fourth from 50-plus this year. ... Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship's missed 42-yarder at the end of the second quarter was just his second in 13 attempts. ... Tigers QB Jarrett Stidham's scoring run was the first third-quarter touchdown allowed by Georgia this year.