Barring any new setbacks during the week, Georgia will face Tennessee with a fresh and relatively healthy team when the Vols visit Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
That was one of the benefits of playing a severely overmatched Troy team this past weekend. The Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1 SEC) were able to sit most of their starters for at least half of the 66-0 victory, including start tailback Todd Gurley, who actually played only the first two offensive possessions. That was particularly helpful since the Vols (2-1, 0-0) had a bye this past Saturday.
“I don’t know how fast the score got up there where we said ‘no more’ but … we just didn’t feel like he needed to be in there anymore, so we let him rest,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said during his weekly teleconference call Sunday night. “I think that was good. I don’t know he felt about it. We didn’t really ask him. Hopefully he understood and hopefully he’ll have more energy next week. We’re going to need it.”
Meanwhile, Rict said injuries suffered by tailback Keith Marshall and safety Quincy Mauger were not as serious as they originally appeared. Richt said the shoulder injury that sidelined Mauger in the first quarter was determined to be “a stinger” and he will be available against the Vols. He had not yet received a report Sunday on the MRI Marshall underwent for his right knee but reiterated that it appears “structurally sound.” However, his status for Tennessee is unclear.
“It was more of a contact injury,” Richt said. “I’ve been told there’s no ACL issue so that’s the good news.”
Richt also said that tailback Nick Chubb won’t have to wear the huge club cast the engulfed his entire left hand this past Saturday following last Monday’s surgery to repair thumb fractures. As for Damian Swann, who sat out against Troy with a “contact headache,” Richt said he was “pretty certain” the starting cornerback will be fine to return to practice and prepare for the Vols.
Other than the rest and rejuvenation factor, there was nothing tangible the Bulldogs could take from dominating an inferior opponent this past Saturday. Georgia did move up one spot in both polls, to 12 in the Associated Press and 13 in the coaches. But that was based on LSU’s precipitous fall after losing at home to Mississippi State.
As for the Vols, they are in the second year of a total rebuild under coach Butch Jones. The week off was well timed coming after a 34-10 loss on the road to No. 4 Oklahoma.
“I’ve watched them on TV a few times and I watched them a little bit today,” said Richt, who will be attempting to beat them for the fifth time in a row for the first time since 1924. “The thing I see more than anything is a high level of energy and a bunch of guys playing really hard. A bunch of guys just playing with maximum effort. They looked very well coached and excited about playing. I think they’re doing a really good job.”
Coming into the season, Tennessee was the only team in FBS having to replace all the starters on both the offensive and defensive lines. Georgia needed a 42-yard field goal in overtime to beat the Vols 34-31 last October in Knoxville.
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