ATHENS — Most of the College Football Playoff field is prepping for the first round this weekend. Eight of the 12 teams will play across Friday and Saturday.

But thanks to Georgia’s 22-19 win over Texas in the SEC Championship game, Georgia does not have a game this weekend. That will give a banged up Georgia team time to heal.

It also opens the door for younger players to get some valuable reps where Georgia isn’t focused on a specific opponent.

“You know, we commit 75, 80% to ourselves and growth and development and trying to get our team ready and backups ready,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after making the playoff field. “We’re always going to be working at us and then we’re going to spend time on our opponents. It’s very similar to an off week for us where we work on two or three future opponents. We’ll continue to work on two future opponents in this case, not knowing the outcome of the game.”

Georgia won’t know whether to focus fully on Indiana or Notre Dame, until late Friday night after the two teams play.

The practices this week won’t just allow quarterback Gunner Stockton to get more reps, especially as he may step in for Carson Beck. But that also means more reps for freshman Ryan Puglisi as well, who now becomes the backup.

There are more reps available because of the extra practice time, which will resemble a fall-camp-like setting.

Georgia has also seen some players transfer out of the program as seven have done so to this point in the transfer portal cycle. Those departures free up reps for the likes of freshmen Ellis Robinson, wide receiver Sacovie White and defensive linemen Jordan Hall and Jordan Thomas to name a few.

The Bulldogs also stand to benefit from the fact that they are not bound by the same practice limits that occur during the regular season. With school out for the winter, Georgia can spend more time on the practice field.

Of course, Georgia will have to find a balance of it all.

Smart is well aware of that and understands the importance of trying to maximize the opportunity in front of Georgia.

“We have flexibility there,” Smart said. “They have to get a day off each week, which most coaches in their right mind give them more than one day off a week at this point in time. You tend to do every other day or you do some workouts. I’ve got a plan of what we’re going to do, but as far as parameters, there’s not a lot of parameters you can do about what you want to do as long as you’re smart.”

Eventually, the practice mindset will shift from the continued development of younger players to whoever Georgia plays in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

Those who make big strides may not make all that big of an impact in that game, which is set for Jan. 1. But those benefits should continue to help Georgia down the line as it looks to continue to be one of the annual powers in college football.