Just one more day before the great Georgia vs. Alabama face-off. Kirby Smart and co. are now running with a dominant streak at home since 2019. They have won 33 straight home games under Smart. On the other hand, Alabama has not beaten Georgia in Athens since 2003. The Tide has struggled on the road since DeBoer became the head coach. The last three games away from Bryant-Denny Stadium did not turn in their favor. Ahead of the game, we have injury updates from both teams. 

On September 25, Charlie Potter dropped the update on X. The caption read, “Sept. 25 Availability Report. No changes for Alabama. Earnest Greene is now out.” Given Alabama’s list, linebackers Jah-Marien Latham and Jeremiah Beaman now sit in the “out” category. But for Smart, the list is quite long. It has tight end Ethan Barbour, the offensive lineman duo-Malachi Toliver and starter Earnest Greene III, along with WR Thomas Blackshear. Out of all, Smart might be a little more concerned about his starter, Greene III. 

Not the right time for Smart’s Georgia to be without one of its top offensive linemen to face off against Alabama. Pro Football Focus gave Greene a grade of just 39.4. Smart would have planned to count on Michael Uini, who was graded at 32.4. This made him turn to redshirt sophomore Bo Hughley.

Greene has been dealing with a back injury that first became a problem in the season-opening win against Marshall. Smart’s starter was sidelined during Austin Peay the following week before returning to action against Tennessee. That’s when Smart passed the baton to Uini, who took over for most of the second and third quarters. But soon, pass protection became an issue that made Smart change his plan and bring Hughley in. 

He came in late for 15 snaps for Georgia and graded at 51, although at 295 pounds, he’s lighter than most at this position. But Smart was happy with the feat that Hughley had put up. “Stacey (Searels) told me in the headphones he thought that Bo was going to play better. He thought he would finish stronger than Uini, who was getting a little bit sloppy and a little bit tired… We were worried about conditioning level, and we practiced hard (last week). You’ve got to be careful you don’t leave it on the practice field, because some of those guys got tired. I was proud of Bo, though,” said the Georgia head coach.

Now, will Hughley be able to make Smart proud once more? Meanwhile, Georgia is already losing their supporters. 

Georgia alum’s blunt take on Kirby Smart’s program

The Alabama vs Georgia game is now one of the hottest topics of discussion. It was taken up on the ESPN College Football podcast. Being an Alabama alum, Greg McElroy had focused on pointing out the nagging issue in Smart’s squad. He said, “I would say yes. I mean, there is an Alabama problem. Obviously, they lost to Alabama in that SEC championship game. found a way to come back and redeem it for a national championship. But Georgia’s record has just not been good against Alabama since 2008.” Well, while it might sound bitter, that’s the truth. 

Georgia’s record against Alabama is 1-9 since 2008. McElroy’s co-host for the evening was Aaron Murray, the former Georgia Bulldogs player. However, the analyst too turned his back on Smart’s program and came with a blunt confession: “I believe they’re doing a blackout again.” But looks like the Georgia players have dived into the mission to go full throttle against the Crimson Tide.

Leaving things on autopilot mode is not in the players’ syllabus. Tight end Oscar Delp has rung the war bell. “It’s a huge one. We want to win this game. The SEC runs through Georgia and Alabama since I’ve been grown up. … I want to keep that [home winning streak alive] and just play Georgia football this weekend,” came the tight end’s fiery promise. But there is something that the Bulldogs need to be extremely prepared for.  

As Oscar Delp himself admitted, “They’re very physical. That’s just how Alabama always is. … You’ve got to use technique and bring it every play. You’ve got to bring it every play against this defense, especially this d-line.” The biggest threat for Kirby Smart’s boys is Alabama’s DL Tim Keenan III, who is making a return this weekend after being sidelined for three weeks because of injury. Let’s see which side luck is on when the action kicks off this weekend.