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Georgia, Texas set pre-game availability reports for SEC Championship
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Georgia and Texas are getting ready to duel it out in Atlanta for this year’s SEC Championship. That game also carries College Football Playoff ramifications with the winner in line to get a first-round bye.
Coming into Saturday, the status of Georgia’s backfield was a major concern for this game. The Bulldogs listed the running back trio of Trevor Etienne, Branson Robinson and Chauncey Bowers as questionable on the mid-week status report.
Etienne transferred in from Florida and was expected to be the leader in the backfield this season, but he has not played since the loss to Ole Miss. He originally sustained a rib injury against Florida and has struggled to get back on the field.
The Bulldogs received some good news from Saturday’s pre-game availability report vs. the Longhorns. Only Robinson remains listed from that original group as a “game-time decision” with Etienne and Bowers no longer listed.
Georgia defensive lineman Christen Miller is also a game-time decision. There was no major update on Texas’s side of the report though star offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. is a game-time decision after being questionable during the week.
The fact Etienne and Bowers are not listed does not necessarily indicate both are 100% for the game, it just means Georgia is saying they are available to play if needed. It will be interesting to see how much they are able to play when things kick off.
Nate Frazier was Georgia’s leading rusher with 50 yards on 11 carries vs. Georgia Tech. Cash Jones and Roderick Robinson II also chipped in, though they made their main impact in the receiving game.
Frazier is the leading rusher for the Bulldogs with 587 yards and 8 touchdowns but Etienne has 477 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 5 yards per carry. Etienne is the only player for Georgia with more than 20 receptions and over 10 carries (95 on the season), so there’s no denying the offense is more versatile when he’s in the lineup.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
