ATLANTA — Kirby Smart is not one to mince words, so the fact he opened the CFP Peach Bowl Semifinal press conference talking about running the football is probably not happenstance.

“You look across the board,” Smart said, “teams that run the ball well, tend to win these games.”

Smart’s penchant for turning to the run game is no secret, even if Georgia was forced to modify the plan the first half of the season because of a shortage of scholarship running backs.

“We needed to become more of a perimeter team,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken confirmed.

“We just needed to, with losing two running backs and at one time Kendall (Milton) was in and out.”

Players returning from injury — or stepping up to compensate for them — rank among the biggest X-factors in the Georgia-Ohio State matchup at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Kendall Milton

Milton, who recently confirmed what DawgNation reported last week about his decision to return for another season, was slowed in the preseason by a hamstring injury.

In Week 6, Milton suffered a groin injury that put him on the shelf for two more games before he started to get back in the mix with three carries against Tennessee.

Milton started against Georgia Tech and broke a career-long 44-yard run before following up with a career-high 113 yards against LSU that included a 51-yard burst.

Georgia’s best defense against the Ohio State offense is keeping C.J. Stroud off the field, and if Milton can get going in concert with Kenny McIntosh, it could be a winning formula.

Mykel Williams

Perhaps the only hole in the defense has been that no one has filled Nolan Smith’s shoes since the elite pass rusher was lost for the season on Oct. 29 against Florida.

It’s contributed to a trend of Georgia giving up as many big plays of more than 25 yards over the past four games (19) as it did through the first nine games of the season (19).

Freshman Mykel Williams could be on the verge of a break out from his defensive end position, however, where he casts an explosive presence at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds.

Williams leads the team with 37 QB Hurries and ranks fourth with 2.5 sacks, and with an added three weeks of bowl prep, he could be on top of his game on Saturday night.

“He’s very mature for his age, and he’s very diligent with his work ethic,” Smart said.

Added Will Muschamp, “He’s always searching for the next answer every day to be better and improve himself every day.”

Ladd McConkey

McConkey has been the “Third Musketeer” when it comes to offensive production, teaming with Kenny McIntosh and Brock Bowers to lead the way.

McConkey is expected to play against Ohio State after leaving the LSU game with a knee injury on Dec. 3 and working through an illness during the bowl prep.

But McConkey’s effectiveness, and the threat he brings to the perimeter and as a return man, will go a long way toward keeping Ohio State’s aggressive defense honest. Having a three-down playmaker with elite speed opens things up underneath.

Here’s a look at the most productive UGA skill position players in 2022:

Kenny McIntosh

174 touches, 1,152 yards, 11 touchdowns

(37-449-1 receiving, 137-709-10 rushing)

Ladd McConkey

73 touches, 992 yards, 7 touchdowns

(51-675-5 receiving, 6-120-2 rushing, 16-197 punt returns)

Brock Bowers

58 touches, 819 yards, 9 touchdowns

(52-726-6 receiving, 6-93-3 rushing)

Daijun Edwards

138 touches, 761 yards, 7 touchdowns

(11-80-0 receiving, 127-681-7 rushing)

Kendall Milton

77 touches, 597 yards, 7 touchdowns

(5-64-1 receiving, 72-533-6 rushing)

Darnell Washington

26 catches, 417 yards, 2 touchdowns