This is so big for the Georgia Bulldogs. With star linebacker CJ Allen having to exit last Saturday's home game vs. Texas in the second quarter with a leg injury, it was a gut punch Dawg Nation was not ready for. Georgia had finally started to come alive on defense in recent weeks, as illustrated by the terrific play of their leaders and Butkus award semifinalist Allen. Losing him would have been awful.
Thankfully, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was able to provide an update on the status of Allen the rest of the way during Monday's press conference ahead of the Charlotte 49ers game on Saturday. Smart said, "He will be week-to-week, and we will see when we can get him back." This is significant because Smart did not rule Allen out for the season. He could return on Saturday, but probably later...
Allen underwent an MRI on the injured leg he suffered in the Texas game. It looked like a hamstring injury more so than anything. With that injury being of the soft-tissue variety, this was probably the case. The great news for Georgia is the Bulldogs are a lock to make the College Football Playoff at this time. All they have to do is beat Charlotte on Saturday to get their 10th win of the 2025 season.
Now that we know Allen is not going to be down for the count, let's assess when he may be returning.
CJ Allen injury update: Georgia Bulldogs LB is listed as "week-to-week"
Looking at what is coming up on the schedule for Georgia, the only known games on the docket are home vs. Charlotte on Saturday afternoon and then vs. the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Georgia finished SEC play at 7-1. The Dawgs need to see what happens in Alabama and Texas A&M's final conference games next week.
For the sake of simplicity, Allen is almost certainly not going to play vs. Charlotte. Why would Georgia put him out there in a game where the Dawgs can cake walk to a breezy 10th victory? As far as if he will be suiting up against the Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech, that is possible, but not overly probable. Georgia will be heading to the playoff anyway, regardless of the outcome of its in-state rivalry game.
From there, Dawg Nation can only hope that Allen is available for either Georgia's first playoff game, or maybe even in the SEC Championship Game, should the Bulldogs even make it there. To reach the SEC Championship, Georgia needs either a Texas A&M loss to Texas or for Alabama to lose the Iron Bowl to its arch rival Auburn. Texas A&M is 7-0 in conference play. Alabama owns the head-to-head.
For now, expect that the absolute earliest Allen could return would be for Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.