Just because Georgia has had the upper hand in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry for quite some time does not mean it is guaranteed to continue. Yes, the Dawgs may be road favorites at Auburn ahead of this meeting, but it is not by much at all. Georgia will only be laying 3.5 points at Auburn, despite them being ranked inside of the top 10 and Auburn not having a number next to its name at this stage of it.
One of the reasons for this is the increasingly inconsistent nature we have seen out of this Georgia team. To be quite frank, some of that is due to coaching, but a lot of it might be from injuries. Where Georgia appears to be the weakest is along the offensive line, a position group ravaged by injuries. Fortunately for Kirby Smart's team, it appears as though two key pieces could be suiting up Saturday.
Smart told reporters Wednesday he hopes to have either Monroe Freeling or Earnest Greene II back.
"Monroe's been able to do a little bit. He's been able to run and work out and do some things, but it's still going to be more like today, tomorrow, we find more out. ... The requirement it takes to be able to strain and play at this level, we've got to find out if he's able to do that."
As for Greene, he did not play last week vs. Kentucky, while Freeling was removed after the first drive.
"He's running, moving around, been able to do some pass sets and do some [individual] stuff, and just continues to get better."
A pair of true freshmen in Dontrell Glover and Juan Gaston Jr. filled in for these veterans last week.
Georgia getting back Monroe Freeling or Earnest Greene III will be huge
There is no denying how important the experience young linemen like Glover and Gaston are getting right out of the gate. Bo Hughley has answered the bell with even more playing time. While Smart has said previously that the team with the best offensive line is going to win the SEC, where is this team's pass rush? Also, if the Dawgs cannot get after Jackson Arnold, they are sacking nobody this season.
If push comes to shove, then it might be Greene getting the nod to start sooner than Freeling. Again, Greene has been in and out of the lineup all season long. The notion of him potentially playing sooner than Freeling has everything to do with him not getting hurt in the Kentucky game like his teammate did. Clearly, Smart would prefer both to play, but frankly, he needs both of them healthy vs. Ole Miss.
And that is really the interesting paradigm in all this. Can Georgia beat Auburn anyway, despite being down two of its best offensive linemen? There is a strong possibility the Dawgs should be able to do that. However, can Georgia hold serve at home vs. the Landshark defense in two weeks with a porous offensive line? That is the bigger question to answer. We shall get to that point after taking on Auburn.
Getting back either Freeling or Greene would be great, but to get both of them back would be unreal.