With five games gone, Georgia has lost its best wide receiver, its fastest wide receiver and its second-best tailback for the season to knee injuries. Its best tailback -- the best in the nation, actually -- just missed a game with a sprained ankle and isn't a certainty to play against Missouri. Another useful receiver will have exploratory knee surgery this week. And here, being a keen spottter of trends, I note the following:

1. A lot of Bulldogs are getting hurt.

2. A lot of Bulldogs who play on offense are getting hurt.

That's no small thing. Georgia is 4-1 and ranked No. 6 in the land because it can outscore people. In the Bulldogs' three SEC victories, the opposition has scored 102 points. (And Tennessee missed seven more in overtime Saturday by inches.) In its loss at Clemson, Georgia yielded 38 points. The four opponents in the Bulldogs' weight class have averaged -- averaged, I say -- 35 points.

Yes, I know the Vols scored on a blocked punt, and yes, the Bulldogs made key stops at the end against LSU, but the greater point still holds: Georgia's defense has been bad going on terrible. It's 4-1 and ranked No. 6 because Aaron Murray and his merry mates are the best offense east of Oregon. But now the offense, which lost Malcolm Mitchell to a knee injury suffered when celebrating the season's first touchdown, has been lessened again.

Assuming Todd Gurley returns at full strength in a timely manner, Georgia will still be capable of scoring 35 points a game -- but maybe not 40 points a game. Lest we forget, the LSU final  was 44-41.

If we ask, "Who on offense is going to provide what was just lost with the injuries to Justin Scott-Wesley and Keith Marshall and Michael Bennett?" ... well, we're asking the wrong question. We need to ask when the defense, as coordinated by the lavishly salaried Todd Grantham, will start to hold up its end.

Even as we concede that Georgia's schedule was front-loaded, we also note that the Bulldogs' defense ranks 66th in the nation in yards against, 95th in points, 42nd in rushing yards, 100th in pass efficiency and 99th in third-down conversions. Tennessee managed a total of 536 yards and 31 points in losses to Oregon and LSU. Against Georgia alone, the Vols managed  404 yards and 31 points.

After the LSU game, this correspondent wondered who, if anyone, could stop Georgia's offense. With the subsequent loss of manpower, Georgia's offense cannot possibly be as good as it has been, which means the issue has become: What opponent of consequence is Georgia apt to stop, and how soon?