ATHENS — Kirby Smart has an issue on his hands at Ole Miss, facing a red-hot Rebels team that has a chance to win its way into the College Football Playoffs.

The Rebels, unlike the No. 1-ranked Texas team Georgia blitzed in Austin, 30-15, has a very good idea of what to expect from the Bulldogs when the teams meet at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Oxford.

“Excited to have the opportunity to play at home, for the team, the fans, to play the most dominant program in college football, to have them here is exciting,” said Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, whose team remembers the 52-17 beating it took last season in Athens.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work throughout the week, players are excited for the challenge, it won’t be easy,” Kiffin said. “They’ve won 51 straight games, including playoffs, against all opponents except Alabama. You have to go all the way back to Covid (2020 season), since that loss (to Florida).”

Kiffin, of course, was also on Alabama’s staff with Smart when the two worked simultaneously as coordinators under then-coach Nick Saban from the 2014 through the 2016 seasons.

Smart’s issue, however, goes deeper than having an opposing coach who knows his system well and will have his team braced for the challenge Georgia will bring.

Georgia attrition

Smart knows losing players is part of every season, some years the impact is greater than others, although recently it has become more significant on account of the players who have left the program through the transfer portal.

Having particularly heavy attrition at any one position can be especially difficult, as it often leads to newer and more inexperienced players three or four spots down on the depth chart being pressed into action.

Hot spots

The Georgia receiver and running back rooms are particularly stretched thin.

Mississippi State transfer receiver Rara Thomas was dismissed from the team before the season on account of a well-documented off-field issue, and Miami transfer receiver Colbie Young was suspended on Oct. 9 as a result of an off-field incident involving a case that’s pending.

Last week, sophomore receiver and punt return man Anthony Evans was sidelined by a hamstring injury.

This, in a unit that was replacing three of its top four pass catchers, who had moved on to the NFL.

The running backs room appeared as though it would be a strength when Georgia acquired Florida transfer through the portal.

But Roderick Robinson, a blossoming 235-pound sophomore, has been sidelined throughout the season on account of a turf toe injury.

Branson Robinson had his return from last year’s knee injury derailed when he injured his other knee — MCL, his right knee — in the game against Mississippi State on Oct. 12.

Etienne left the game against Florida last Saturday with a rib injury, and had experienced soreness earlier this week, leading Smart to suggest that he could be limited should he play against Ole Miss.

Georgia’s primary backs, with the three more-experienced players out, are walk-on Cash Jones and true freshman Nate Frazier.

Player rankings

Smart provided some insight into Georgia’s roster management — of which he is noted for — when asked how Georgia might alter its playbook and/or scheme on account of the heavy attrition at the receiver and running back positions.

“We are who we are, part of your job as a coach is at the beginning of the year to figure out your top players,” Smart said. “We rank our players in the spring, we rank our players in fall camp. We don’t do it by position — it’s not position specific.”

Smart indicated Georgia creates its base offensive and defensive models from those player rankings.

“If you have all these great wideouts, then you might need to be 10 personnel, if you’ve got all these great backs, then you might need to be three-back sets,” Smart said. “You’ve got to get your best football players on the field and figure out how to use them.

“We’re at the point with injuries and attrition, and people not here anymore that we have to figure out who’s our best combination of players on the field and use their skillset. That’s what good offensive minds try to do is use football players, not just plays.

“So we got receivers, we got guys at tight end, we got guys at (running) back that are still good players, they just might not have as much experience as the other guys.”

Ole Miss challenge

Smart talked about the “elasticity” required for his team to maintain its focus and poise through a challenging season of attrition coupled with a schedule the College Football Playoff committee considers the most difficult in the nation.

“This is our third or fourth big road game, in terms of playing on the national stage,” Smart said. “Ole Miss is a tremendous team, the more you watch them, the more you respect them.”

Smart noted the talent the Rebels have on both sides of the ball, with an elite quarterback and receiver group and a stacked front seven made up of transfers jumping out the most.

“You look at offense and defense, both sides of the ball, they are probably the best combination of those two things in our conference,” Smart said, “and they’re playing really good football right now.”

Smart agreed with Kiffin, who said earlier in the week that Ole Miss’ ability to upgrade their defensive front in the offseason had the Rebels in better position to compete with Georgia.

“The biggest difference is their defense …. they are arguably the best defense in the country in terms of sacks and tackles for loss within the SEC, and it’s a product of their line of scrimmage play,” Smart said.

“They upgraded all the way across the board. Second year in the system with Pete (Golding, defensive coordinator). Last year was his first year, and he didn’t have the personnel to play like he wanted to, and he was having to do it with smoke and mirrors. Now, he’s got really good players, and players make schemes better.”

Indeed, to the point where Kiffin — known for his explosive offenses — is playing complimentary football with his defense.

“They haven’t had to rely totally on their offense with the defense they have,” Smart said. “If anything, they’ve leaned on their defense, and the defense has kept them in games and almost won games for them.

“They could very easily be undefeated, so they did what they went out to do, for sure.”

Bottom line

Georgia has risen to the occasion on the road, losing only one game, at Alabama.

That road experience helps, but as Smart pointed out, there are certain things needed each time out to be effective in a hostile setting where momentum can shift quickly.

“It’s relative to your ability to run the ball, it’s a direct correlation on the road in the SEC,” Smart said. “You protect your quarterback when you can find success in the run game and be physical at the line of scrimmage.

“Having played on the road multiple times this year, it helps, but if you’re in third-and-long, it’s not going to matter,” Smart said. “You’ve got to win first and second down to stay on schedule.”