There are more questions than answers about what will happen on Sept. 27 in Athens, GA. Have the Alabama football demons from Aug. 30 been exorcised? Can Kirby Smart cast aside the heavy weight he carries as a result of the Crimson Tide dominating the Dawgs? Are the strengths and weaknesses Georgia exhibited while beating Tennessee enduring or fleeting? Which team has a scheme advantage in the coaching trios of Kelen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and Kane Wommack vs. Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo, and Glenn Schumann?
There is one reason that the Georgia Bulldogs will be a better team against Alabama than the one that escaped Knoxville with a win. It is tempting to define it as a 'clear' reason, but more accurately, it must be labeled as a probable reason. The reason is that against Alabama, Georgia will be healthier on the right side of its offensive line than against the Vols.
Against Tennessee, on the left side of Georgia's offensive line, two guys played 95 snaps. On the right side, the Bulldogs used five different offensive linemen. The most generous assessment for three of the five is that they had C-plus performances. The other two must be given a D-minus. The best 'average' performance from the five offensive linemen came from Juan Gaston, who was not 100% going in due to an ankle problem. In Knoxville, Gaston spent time in the medical tent, apparently aggravating the not-healed ankle and getting treatment for a problem with his other ankle.
Gaston and Earnest Greene were injured against Marshall, and neither played against Austin Peay. Greene played about a third of Georgia's offensive snaps against the Vols, and like Gaston, was not 100%. He performed poorly. Playing at right tackle more than Greene was a rotation of Michael Uini and Bo Hughley. Hughly's performance was lacking. Uini's performance was dreadfully poor.
Alabama Football will face a better Georgia team
There is no need to scour the internet for updated injury information on Gaston and Greene. Kirby Smart will keep that closely held as long as he can. The bye week should help both of them considerably. Alabama football fans can anticipate that Gaston and Greene will not only be available against the Crimson Tide, but they will be at or near 100%. The result will be a better Georgia offensive team than the one that beat Georgia on the road.
Note: Special thanks to Dawgs247 for considerable background information for this post.