The first injury report for Georgia's upcoming battle against Vanderbilt was released Wednesday night, and Commodores starting quarterback Jared Curtis was marked questionable to play. On paper it seems like a good thing for the starting quarterback of Georgia's opponent to not play, but that isn't necessarily the case this week.
Georgia is already favored by 24.5 points in this game, and if Curtis doesn't play it would become even more likely that they would win. This game on paper is already easy enough with Curtis playing though, that's why Georgia is favored by so many points. So instead of wanting the game to tip in their favor even more, the Bulldogs should instead want Curtis on the field to better prepare them for the future.
The nature of Curtis' injury is not clear. His questionable status means he could play this weekend or he could miss the game as well, but instead of celebrating the potential of him not playing fans should want to see Georgia's defense face what would be their biggest test up to this point in the season.
Kirby Smart has already explained why Jared Curtis would be a valuable test
Kirby Smart knows Curtis well. He recruited him heavily out of high school and even had him committed to Georgia for much of last year, so he already knows how special of a player Curtis is. It's one thing to be a highly regarded recruit in high school though and it's another to back it up in college, and so far Smart thinks Curtis has lived up to the hype.
“Tremendous talent," Smart said via dawgnation.com. "Way better athletically than people give him credit for. I don’t know if anybody’s tackled him, with one person, tackled him yet. He’s strong. He’s quick. He’s powerful. He’s got great arm talent. Everything everybody thought has been true.”
The Bulldogs have had a relatively easy start to their season and have yet to be truly challenged by any team or quarterback. Curtis is the most talented quarterback they would face up to this point in the season and someone who could create problems for their defense. In his first start against NC State two weeks ago he threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground as well. His dual-threat ability is the test Georgia thought they'd see against Oklahoma's John Mateer last week, but he ended up not being much of a challenge at all.
If Curtis plays then Georgia's defense will see how they stack up against someone as talented Curtis. He is a physical specimen at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds who can sling the ball all over the field and run over defenders. While Georgia would likely stand a better chance at winning if Curtis wasn't on the field, the Bulldogs are building towards something far greater than one win in early October. They are building towards championships, and Georgia's defense playing against Curtis could prepare them to find success against similarly talented quarterbacks who have a better team around them.
Georgia shouldn't need Vanderbilt weakened to handle its business
If Georgia is as good as they think they are they don't need any help to beat a team like Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs are 4-0, the No. 2 team in the latest AP Poll and have the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. They have also won all four of their games by at least 28 points and are already being predicted by Vegas oddsmakers to win by a similar margin.
The odds are clearly stacked against Vanderbilt, and that was the case before this update on Crutis' health. Georgia should win rather easily with or without Curtis, and if that's the case then they don't need him to sit.
Vanderbilt will release new injury reports on Thursday and Friday and Georgia will be watching closely to see if Curtis' status changes. Hopefully Curtis isn't dealing with any serious injury for his own sake, but for Georgia they could use the challenge he would present this weekend if he is ultimately healthy enough to play.
Game odds adjust periodically and are subject to change.
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