Kirby Smart and his coaching staff have a plan for each and every one of their players come Week 13. The No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs will enter play on Saturday at 9-1 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. After beating the brakes off Texas last weekend 35-10, all that remains for the Dawgs are a home date vs. the lowly Charlotte 49ers and a neutral-site affair with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
ESPN's Football Power Index gives Georgia a 98.8-percent chance to make the playoff. The only way they do not make it is if they were to somehow lose to Charlotte at home, and then to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. That is not going to happen. Georgia is one of four teams that are bona-fide locks to make the playoff, as well as one of 10 teams with better than a 50-50 chance of making the 12-team field.
So with that in mind, how should Smart and his staff go about resting key contributors vs. Charlotte? Surely, if a guy is not healthy, he is not going to play. There is no reason for star linebacker CJ Allen to play until at least Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. While center Drew Bobo may want to give it a go, an extra week's worth of rest of his snapping hand may do him a world of good. It will be a case-by-case.
Let's now unpack a few key contributors for Georgia who could see shortened playing time Saturday.
Should Zachariah Branch get some well-deserved rest vs. Charlotte?
Wide receiver Zachariah Branch at least deserves a mention here. The USC Trojans transfer has been an integral part of the Georgia receiving corps all season long. He is the speed guy in the middle of the field, one who regularly catches the ball in the backfield to make would-be tacklers miss on the regular. Branch plays similarly to what made Ladd McConkey so special during his days at Georgia.
As far as the risk vs. reward component goes for Branch, he will probably play the first few series on Saturday before eventually giving way to the reserves once the game is out of reach. Of the five players of note mentioned on this list, he is the most healthy. The upside to him playing is nowhere near as close to the downside of him getting hurt. Football is a game of injury, and Branch knows this.
Look for Branch to play for the better part of the first half before this game gets totally out of hand.
Playing time prediction: Zachariah Branch will play until UGA goes up by three or four scores
Is resting Brett Thorson's leg a good idea vs. Charlotte on Saturday?
This one is a little more tricky. Punter Brett Thorson used to be absolute nails for this football team. He suffered a knee injury late last season that has effected his play at times this year. While it seemed as though he was trying to play keep-away from Texas' talented returners, he had a lot of ugly kicks off the foot on Saturday night. Punting can take a toll on one's leg, so should Thorson get some rest?
In a best-case scenario, Georgia does not punt once on Saturday. If the Dawgs can score on every possession, then Thorson may not even have to play. Georgia needs to be able to use the punting game as a weapon down the line if it wants to win another national championship. Then again, sometimes awful field position can dictate that the punter must come out and do his job anyway.
Saturday should be a week where Thorson gets some rest, but probably should not play very much.
Playing time prediction: Brett Thorson should not be punting more than twice in this game
How much should we expect to see Drew Bobo play on Saturday?
It seems like it will be a matter of pain tolerance for star center Drew Bobo. Obviously, he will want to be out there playing in his father Mike Bobo's offense, snapping the ball and blocking for his best friend on the team in Heisman Trophy hopeful Gunner Stockton. Of course, he has a laceration on his snapping hand that needs time to heal for the games that really matter. What may Georgia do here?
If anybody is going to be on a limited snap count on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday, it would have to be Bobo. Again, he may want to play the entire time, but Smart and his staff must protect Bobo from himself. He may play the first quarter, maybe up until halftime, just to continue to get a feel for snapping with two largely compromised fingers. The reps of playing hurt here could be an upside.
Regardless, we should be stunned to see Bobo playing much in the second half or the fourth quarter.
Playing time prediction: Drew Bobo plays for as long as Gunner Stockton is in at quarterback
CJ Allen cannot possibly play vs. Charlotte after his leg injury, right?
This does not need to be this hard, but we do need to spell this out for everyone here. Under no circumstances should Georgia star linebacker CJ Allen play a snap on Saturday vs. the Charlotte 49ers. It should not matter that this could be his final game Between the Hedges. He leg injury is seen as week-to-week. People thought Georgia lost him for the year. Save himself from himself, Georgia...
Saturday afternoon is not the time to be dumb. Let Raylen Wilson get some more reps wearing the green dot with Allen helping coach him up from the sidelines. As painful as it may sound, Allen is not winning the Butkus this year. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is probably going to claim it. The only thing that truly even matters with Allen is for him to be healthy enough to play come playoff time.
If Allen does suit up, it should be to be on the field for one final play of his Georgia career at home.
Playing time prediction: CJ Allen should not play a down for Georgia this week vs. Charlotte
Does Gunner Stockton want to be a Heisman Trophy finalist or not?
Outside of CJ Allen, Gunner Stockton is the one player of great intrigue here heading into the Charlotte game. Like Allen, he is the straw that stirs the drink on his side of the fotball. While he is considerably healthier than Allen, he does play the quarterback position with an ever-present physicality. He should play with the first-teamers for a while, but there is also this component to it...
Stockton is on the cusp of being a Heisman Trophy finalist. Surely, the Heisman voters would rather give it to Fernando Mendoza, Marcel Reed or Julian Sayin for navigating cupcake schedules, but Stockton is not far off their trail. While Stockton may not care about awards or anything of that nature, the Heisman, in a way, does act as a team award. He would love to represent Georgia for it.
Stockton will play enough to put up some stats vs. Charlotte before giving way to Ryan Puglisi.