Georgia football will have to wait until just before kickoff to find out if its most dangerous offensive playmaker will take the field against Ole Miss. Coach Kirby Smart said Saturday morning that star tight end Brock Bowers will be a game-time decision for the Bulldogs' primetime clash with the Rebels as he continues toward a full recovery from ankle surgery.

“That's what we hope,” Smart said of Bowers being cleared to play, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach. “I don't know if he'll be 100%, but he's done a good job during the week working toward the benchmarks he's got to do. We'll see how he is. It's a game-time decision.

“I still don't know if we'll be 100%. We're hoping to get Mims back. With those things happening, we're getting closer on offense to where we need to be.”

Bowers, a unanimous All-American in 2022, suffered a high ankle sprain in Georgia's win over Vanderbilt on October 14th and hasn't played since. He underwent TightRope surgery—a corrective procedure using surgical thread instead of screws meant to accelerate recovery—shortly thereafter, facing a four-to-six week timeline to return to the field. Saturday marks 26 days since Bowers went under the knife. Eyebrows raised across the country on Friday when reports indicated there was “real hope” Bowers could play against the Rebels.

The battle between No. 2 Georgia and No. 9 Ole Miss has major national title implications. A loss for the Bulldogs would open the window for another team to potentially crash the top-four of the College Football Playoff rankings, and the Rebels would have a legitimate case as a one-loss SEC team with the most impressive victory of the season.

Georgia football and Ole Miss kickoff at 4:00 p.m. (PT) from Sanford Stadium.