Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart gave a major injury update on one of the Bulldogs' best players on offense. For the past four games, the current No. 2 team in the country has been without offensive guard Tate Ratledge. The 2023 first-team All-SEC selection picked up a high-ankle sprain in the Bulldogs' 13-12 win over Kentucky on September 14.

Despite this major loss over a month ago, with Georgia football's recent, critical win at No. 1 Texas, Kirby Smart's team is really starting to pick up momentum. And this good news continued when the head coach announced he's “hopeful” that Tate Ratledge will return against Florida according to ESPN senior writer Chris Low.

Tate Ratledge's health will have a huge effect on Georgia's title odds

Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Tate Ratledge (69) is walked off the field after an injury during the second quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field.
Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

The senior is one of the best interior linemen in the country and a two-time national champion. During the preseason, Ratledge was named to the watchlist of multiple end-of-the-season awards, such as the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy. Georgia football will need the Chattanooga native to be on the field for them as soon as possible based on how their offense has performed so far this year.

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To this point, the Georgia offense has put up an average of 33.3 points per game. That metric trails Miami, the leader team in this stat, by more than 13 points. The main weakness on this side of the ball has been the Bulldogs' extremely lackluster run game.

Going into this season the Bulldogs' rushing offense was expected to be one of the team's strengths. This was especially the case after Georgia football landed coveted transfer Trevor Etienne out of the Florida. But so far the offense ranks 95th in rushing yards a game and is currently a weakness that could cost Georgia a chance at their third title in four years.

Despite having recent road games at Alabama and Texas, things will not get any easier for Georgia over these next few weeks. Florida football coach Billy Napier is on the hot seat, but the Gators are always a formidable matchup for the Bulldogs historically.

After “The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”, comes back-to-back matchups against ranked teams. The Bulldogs are first set to play on the road against No. 19 Ole Miss. After that comes a huge home game against No. 7 Tennessee. So while Georgia football controls its destiny for a spot in the SEC championship game and College Football Playoff, there are a ton of potential roadblocks that they will need to overcome going forward.