This past weekend, the Georgia Bulldogs upset the Auburn Tigers 31-13 at home to get back into the win column. It was the epitome of handling business after suffering a difficult roadside loss. Head coach Kirby Smart gave an injury update to the media on Monday after the conference victory.

While a number of prominent players were not on the field on Saturday, center Jared Wilson’s absence from the game due to an injury sustained late in the Alabama game and linebacker Smael Mondon’s absence from the Auburn game may have been the most significant. Wilson’s replacement at the top of the lineup on Saturday was Drew Bobo. Though other Bulldogs suffered injuries throughout the game, Wilson wasn’t the only one. Here’s what Smart had to say about his team:

Injury Report for Georgia Football 10/7/24

Regarding Jordan Hall and Jared Wilson: “Yeah, hopefully they can play; we’ll find out more today.”

In particular, Smart was questioned about the nature of Smael Mondon’s work and whether a return date was set. Prior to Wednesday night’s game against Auburn, Mondon was on the injury report with the comment, “We hope to get him back soon.”

After Auburn’s victory, Kirby Smart of Georgia amplifies his widely shared remarks on crowd loudness.

Georgia football’s season resumed on Saturday as they defeated Auburn 31-13 at home, recovering from a setback to Alabama. After the victory, head coach Kirby Smart expressed his displeasure with the audience, stating that he needed more cheering and loudness from the Athens supporters.

After a span of two days, Smart’s emotions remained unchanged, and he is confident in his company. According to Seth Emerson of The Athletic, he wants Sanford Stadium to revert to its former status as one of the hardest venues in the country for players.

“I stand by the words I have spoken and said. According to Emerson, “I think it could have been better,” Smart remarked. “Coaches who have visited us have said that this is the best playing environment they have encountered this entire season. Furthermore, I mistook that for Saturday. And I don’t believe that feeling is unique to me.

Auburn’s offense battled significantly on Saturday in Georgia, managing just 13 points and suffering on crucial downs despite moving the ball throughout the game. Georgia is still a very unfriendly home field.

In the CFP competition, Georgia still has room for error.

Even though Georgia’s winning streak throughout the regular season is broken, they still have a good margin of error in the competition for the College Football Playoffs. That was the situation going into Saturday, and it is now much more so in light of all the chaos that surrounded them during Week 6.

Despite being passed by Oregon and Penn State, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs managed to hold onto their ranking in the top five at No. 5 in the AP poll this week thanks to the stunning upset victories by Arkansas and Vanderbilt (against Tennessee and Alabama, respectively) that knocked down two of the top five teams. Georgia has a strong schedule going ahead, and even if they lose two or three games, it’s difficult to imagine them missing the playoffs given their chances of making it to the SEC Championship Game.

They still have a ton of opportunities to win big, prestige-boosting games. In Week 7, they host Mississippi State, one of the poorest teams in the conference, then on October 19, they travel to Austin to play No. 1 Texas. In November, they play Tennessee at home against them and Ole Miss, both of whom present chances for ranking victories. It’s unlikely that Georgia will drop out of the top 12 as long as they avoid losing all three of them. Their season-opening rout of Clemson is age extremely well, and their body of work will probably eventually bring them there.

Without a doubt, Georgia needs to make some improvements in order to be competitive in the postseason. Their defense isn’t nearly the same oppressive force that we’ve come to expect from Georgia, and their offense has occasionally labored. Still, such factors shouldn’t prevent Smart and company from at least qualifying for a championship.