ATHENS — Georgia will now enter Saturday’s game without their top running back in Trevor Etienne. The junior was ruled out on Thursday after having dealt with a rib injury for Georgia’s last two games.

Georgia had just 59 rushing yards as a team against Ole Miss, with the running backs combining for 68 yards on 22 carries. The running game hasn’t been all that successful for Georgia this season, as it ranks 15th in the SEC in carries and yards per game.

Now down their leading running back, even more falls onto the shoulders of Carson Beck.

“Our identity here for so long has been to run the ball and we just weren’t able to that tonight,” Beck said after the loss against Ole Miss. “And maybe whenever that happens, I got to step up and we got to make some explosive plays in the pass game or maybe I got to start making some plays on the ground. I tried to start extending plays and, you know, running a little bit more in the second half.

“But, you know, we just got to be explosive and someone’s got to step up and make a play whenever we’re not able to run the ball comfortably.”

As for how Georgia replaces Etienne, look for it to fall to freshman Nate Frazier. Cash Jones is listed as questionable, which could mean Georgia moves Dillon Bell to running back in a pinch.

But Beck will now have to conduct an offense without one of its most important pieces. Beck is going to have to communicate and orchestrate more this week.

Head coach Kirby Smart did praise Beck in that area of the offense.

“We’ve got a quarterback we’ve got who’s completely competent, capable, and understanding of our system that gives us the best chance to win,” Smart said.

Beck hasn’t been playing his best of late. He’s turned the ball over 14 times since the Alabama game, with 12 of those being interceptions. No quarterback in the SEC has thrown more this season.

Georgia scored just 10 points in the loss to Ole Miss, tying the low-water mark of Smart’s time in Athens.

The Georgia quarterback has to play better. He knows that. He hears it from Smart.

“Well, there’s need to hear, and then there’s need to reaffirm what’s true,” Smart said. “What’s the actual truth? Because we don’t deal in narratives and themes, and what people say, and social media fodder, and what you guys think. We deal in truths, and the truth is what we usually say to them. Like, that’s a good decision. That’s a poor decision. That’s a good drop. That’s a bad drop. That’s a good protection of the ball. If you’re going to take a sack, that’s a poor protection of the ball. We deal in truths, and we don’t go much past that.”

Beck’s struggles have coincided with a less-than-fully-equipped offense. The turnovers have really increased since Colbie Young was suspended from the program. Anthony Evans has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury but he is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game.

The Bulldogs will now be without three of their scholarship running backs. It’s not an easy situation for any quarterback to deal with by any means. Especially when you add in that Georgia leads the country in drops with 29.

Beck has attempted to overcome challenges all season in Georgia’s offense. He hasn’t always been able to navigate them successfully.

He’ll have another one on Saturday. In a game that Georgia very much needs to win if it is going to see Etienne return to play in a meaningful game this season.