ATHENS — Georgia wouldn’t figure to have much of a challenge as a 50-point home favorite over FCS-school Tennessee Tech.

But that didn’t stop Kirby Smart from challenging his freshmen on the heels of the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs’ 34-3 win over Clemson last Saturday.

Smart threw down the gauntlet when the topic of his freshmen players’ toughness came up, debunking the notion that they had proven themselves in the opener.

Considering the performances of safety KJ Bolden, who led defenders in snaps, and tailback Nate Frazier, who was the game’s leading rusher, it was a case of “Classic Kirby.”

That is, the Georgia head coach who works tirelessly to ensure there is no complacency or comfort in the locker room, always looking to keep his team sharp and on edge.

“Had a couple freshmen go in and get knocked off the ball, so, no, I wasn’t real proud of that,” Smart said, referring to the limited snaps freshmen linemen received on both sides of the ball in the Top 15-tilt.

“I don’t know that a freshman got to show toughness … . K.J. Bolden? He didn’t have to show a lot of toughness; he went up there in the trenches, and he had some nice tackles, he had some nice plays, but he didn’t have to show toughness.”

Clemson’s 230-pound senior tailback, Phil Mafah, might disagree after Bolden turned him upside down with a textbook open-field tackle.

“Nate Frazier had some nice holes and made some nice cuts,” Smart continued, “but he didn’t have to show toughness.”

Smart has said before there’s a different standard at Georgia, and the young freshmen stars on the rise that stood out in the win over Clemson have likely already figured that out.

Resting players

Georgia will most surely keep defensive lineman Mykel Williams (ankle) out of the game, and if Warren Brinson (ankle) and Nazir Stackhouse (lower body) take snaps, they figure to be limited.

That has nothing to do with toughness, so much as roster management, and it’s a very long season with the expanded 12-team playoff.

The game with Tennessee Tech allows Smart to rest players who have been hampered by nagging injuries and provide valuable game snaps for the young and new players he’s trying to get coached up.

Expect Georgia to err on the side of caution this week when it comes to which players dealing with any sore of bumps and bruises it puts on the field.

Tailback Trevor Etienne, suspended for the opener, is eligible to play by UGA disciplinary policy, and likely will get his first handoffs of the season.

Hot Seats

Former Georgia assistants and current SEC head coaches Sam Pittman and Shane Beamer have very important games — in terms of taking steps to secure their futures — playing as road underdogs.

Pittman, coming off a 4-8 season, has put hopes in new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

Petrino was head coach at Arkansas from 2008-11, leading the Razorbacks to 21 wins and Top 15 finishes in his final two seasons.

Beamer’s Gamecocks open the SEC season at Kentucky, a team Carolina beat 17-14 last season

Beamer’s team appears to be in somewhat of a rebuild with a new quarterback and three-first-time starters on the offensive line.

The Gamecocks were 5-7 last season and didn’t instill much confidence in their fans with the 23-19 win over Old Dominion.

Hottest seat

There are some who believe Billy Napier’s fate at Florida is already sealed after a 41-17 home loss to Miami, even as athletic director Scott Stricklin has suggested the school will be patient with him.

“Players are anxious to get back on the field and get this taste out of our mouths,” Napier said. “We’ve experienced the consequence of making errors, in terms of margin of error, when you play a really good opponent. You have to give some credit to Miami, I thought the quarterback was outstanding.

“We’re looking for more consistency, where we have 11 players doing exactly what they are supposed to do.”

Celebrated 5-star, Florida freshman DJ Lagway will make his first career start with incumbent Graham Mertz out with a concussion.

The Gators have a back-loaded schedule this season with a five-game regular-season ending run of kickoffs against Georgia (Nov. 2), Texas (Nov. 9), LSU (Nov. 16), Ole Miss (Nov. 23) and Florida State (Nov. 30)

Rolling Tide

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer gets his first chance to show just how much the Tide has improved from a year ago at this stage of the season when South Florida visits Tuscaloosa to play on what will now be known as “Saban Field.”

The Bulls played Alabama close in Tampa last season, leading 3-0 into the second quarter before the Tide won 17-3.

“Knowing this game went down to the wire in some way last year, when we were down there,” DeBoer said. “We know that we need to be ready to go.”

DeBoer pointed out his Tide team looked adjusted to the new practice schedule and drills he brought to Tuscaloosa in its 63-0 win over Western Kentucky last Saturday.

“Felt good about the guys with everything kind of being new, the schedules and routines that maybe I have that were different from what they were used to (under Nick Saban),” DeBoer said. " I thought they did a great job adjusting and hit the ground running.”