ATHENS – Tate Ratledge has started 33 games for the Georgia Bulldogs and played in several more. The fifth-year senior offensive lineman called the scene he and his teammates encountered against Tennessee Saturday night at Sanford Stadium “the most electric atmosphere I’ve ever been in no matter what. That was number one.”
From that, the Bulldogs move on to host a 2-8 University of Massachusetts team that just fired its coach. Georgia was posted as an early 42.5-point favorite. Accordingly, it would be silly to think UGA could re-create such a charged atmosphere.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be reasons to attend. In fact, for the Bulldogs’ most fervent fans, Saturday might be the best time to get a glimpse of the future.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart will proceed by starting most of the regulars he would on any given week during a regular season. But between the realities of the opponent the Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2 SEC) are facing and the injuries that have ravaged the roster, expect Georgia to play as many players in a game as they have all season.
The difference now and when the Bulldogs played host to Tennessee Tech back in Week 2 is many of the freshmen and backups who might get on the field Saturday have earned those roles and demonstrated their wares over 19 weeks of practice since preseason camp opened on Aug. 1.
Many of those guys either have not played at all or had only in extremely limited opportunities. Ratledge, for one, is eager to see them get some real action on Dooley field.
“A lot of these scout-team defensive linemen that I go against every day, the Jordan Thomases, the Nnamdi’s (Ogboko), the J.J.’s (Jamaal Jarrett), they do a tremendous job giving us looks every week,” Ratledge said Monday during the Bulldogs’ weekly news conference. “I love to see them get to go out there on the field and play, because they truly are what gets us prepared each Saturday. I love seeing walk-ons get to play. They’re the heartbeat of this team. I’m looking forward to seeing them out there.”
Of course, that’s more of a hope than it is an expectation. Georgia is coming off one of its best performances of the season, which was the second half it played in a 31-17 win over No. 7 Tennessee. The victory set up the 12th-ranked Bulldogs for a likely berth in the College Football Playoff, providing they handle business against the 2-8 Minutemen and arch rival Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3 ACC) in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29.
Meanwhile, Georgia is as banged-up as it has been in years. Several starters missed the Tennessee game due to injuries and several others have been playing through issues for 13 consecutive weeks. With the potential for as many as six games to be awaiting on the other side of Saturday, the Bulldogs desperately could use a breather.
Teams that fail to win a conference championship this season have the potential to play many as 17 games this season. Roster management will be key to surviving that.
“That’s a hypothetical,” Smart said when asked if his team would just as soon not have to play in the conference title game. “The focus is on UMass. I mean, it really is. Why would I put energy or time into trying to figure out what the best pathway is when I’m worried about UMass? I just don’t think it’s a quality conversation.”
Just surviving another week is the true priority.
To date, Georgia has had at least 18 regulars miss games with injuries. This past Saturday, the Bulldogs lost starting flanker Dillon Bell to an ankle injury. Meanwhile, running back Trevor Etienne (ribs), left tackle Earnest Greene (shoulder), guard Micah Morris (leg) and defensive back Joenel Aguero (hand) – all starters – did not play in the most important game of the season.
Accordingly, Georgia played the fewest number of players it has all season for an SEC game. It very well could follow that the Bulldogs play more players than they have all season this weekend. Being a nonconference game, there is no limitation on how many players they can dress out.
To that end, Georgia fans should see more of players Saturday of which they’ve gotten only a glimpse so far. There might even be a few completely new sightings.
The Bulldogs already have had to unleash a few players they might’ve hoped to redshirt just a few weeks ago.
With Trevor Etienne (ribs) and Branson Robinson (knee) out against Tennessee and Cash Jones (ankle) playing through injury, Georgia had to play freshman running back Chauncey Bowens against the Vols. It was just the third appearance of the season for the former 3-star prospect out of Port St. Lucie, Fla. He carried the ball five times for seven yards.
Wide receiver Nitro Tuggle also had to be pressed into service last Saturday. He came through with one reception for four yards. But being his fifth game of the season, redshirting is no longer an option for the consensus 4-star freshman from Goshen, Indiana.
“Nitro is a real good player; he’s really a fun player to compete against,” said Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette. “He has probably one of the best releases (off the line of scrimmage) of all the receivers. That helps me to know what to expect in games. You know, iron sharpens iron. He’s getting me better; I’m getting him better. It’s just fun to go against him and I’ve seen him get better.”
Quite deliberately, Georgia has been getting more young defensive players on the field as well. Freshman linebacker Chris Cole has seen his playing time gradually increase all season, starting with special teams, then moving into the regular rotation on defense. The same for 5-star linebacker Justin Williams, outside linebacker Quintavious Johnson, defensive back Kyron Jones and sophomore defensive tackle Xzavier McLeod.
All of them have been spotted on the field with increasing regularity. If all goes well, they will log the majority of minutes against the Minutemen on Saturday.
“All those guys are getting reps and getting better,” Smart said. “I don’t necessarily qualify a game rep against UMass or next week’s game as any more quality than I do today’s reps we’re going to get out there.”
