Georgia coach Mark Richt has been here before. His future with the Bulldogs is once again in question, after a blowout loss to the Florida Gators. This very well may be his final season in Athens. But the year’s not over, Richt points out.
“At this point — we didn’t make it to the Eastern Division championship,” Rich said. “That’s all I can say right now. It’s been up and down, but we’re battling. We’re battling.”
The Bulldogs will battle the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in Athens. Georgia can become bowl eligible with a win.
Junior quarterback Faton Bauta started against Florida and struggled, throwing four interceptions. Bauta and Greyson Lambert, who started the first seven games of the season, were listed as co-No. 1s on the Georgia depth chart.
“We’re Georgia. We’re a team,” Richt said. “We work together. We’re going to fight. We’re going to fight together, and we’ll do the things we think we do to get better as we go.
Regardless of starts at QB, the Dogs need to get the running game untracked. Sony Michel has carried the bulk of the load, since Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury against Tennessee.
“Sony is a very talented guy, and he’s been doing that kind of thing his whole life,” Richt said. “I think he played high school ball in the eighth grade. He’s used to being that guy to carry the load, but really, I don’t think we’ve signed a back at Georgia that we thought would be one guy to carry the load by himself. We’ve really wanted to have a situation where we have two, three guys that can share the load. I think that’s healthier for those guys. I think it’s the way to hopefully keep them fresher throughout a game and throughout a season.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Sony Michel: The sophomore will carry the load, with Nick Chubb out with a knee injury. Michel rushed for 45 yards on 13 carries against Florida.
–QB Faton Bauta: The junior got his first start against Florida. He completed 15 of 33 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions.
–WR Malcolm Mitchell: Hampered by injuries throughout his career, Mitchell has emerged as Georgia’s go-to receiver. Mitchell had four catches for 60 yards against Florida.