The Georgia Bulldogs enter Saturday night with a big opportunity. With one more win, they are effectively in the College Football Playoff. All the Dawgs need to do is get two wins in their final three regular-season games. A win over the Texas Longhorns would mean all Georgia would need to do is beat either the lowly Charlotte 49ers at home or the rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets over in Atlanta.
While the Texas game could go either way, there are a few things working in Georgia's favor, including the health of one player in particular. After being knocked out of last Saturday's road game at Mississippi State, tight end Lawson Luckie is good to to for Georgia after clearing the necessary concussion protocol. He was not listed on Thursday's injury report in the lead-up to the Texas game.
Luckie tried to go back into the game, but Georgia was already up big on Mississippi State shortly before halftime. Holding him out for precautionary measures was the right call all the way. Should Georgia be able to knock off Texas for the third time in a row, not only would it flip history's script, but it could conceivably put the Longhorns' College Football Playoff chances even more on life support.
Luckie has shown game-breaking ability of late, as illustrated by his phenomenal game vs. Ole Miss.
Lawson Luckie is all cleared to go for Georgia ahead of the Texas game
Truth be told, Luckie being ruled out would have been more of a concern than him playing in the game. The pleasant surprise is not that he is playing, but that he is nowhere to be found on the injury report. This may afford Texas a little bit more time to prepare to cover Luckie in the passing game. Conversely, it gives Maxwell Award semifinalist Gunner Stockton another weapon he can throw to.
Overall, Georgia should be the decided favorite over Texas entering this game, regardless of if Luckie was going to play or not. At the very least, he can be a decoy to take some pressure off receiving targets like Zachariah Branch, Oscar Delp, London Humphreys and Noah Thomas going up against the Texas defense. Although Texas could pull off the upset, this game is playing right into UGA's hand.
Ultimately, Georgia is stout against the run and Texas is not great on the ground. Georgia has stopped giving up the big play down the field for the most part. Arch Manning has gotten better by taking what the defense gives him. Look for Georgia's defense to bend and not break in this one. As long as Stockton can keep the chains moving, Georgia should be well on its way to a 9-1 start to the season.
Georgia seems to be the one playoff contender nobody in the country wants to be facing right now.