Georgia to play UK without key players

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Posted 10:36AM on Monday, October 21, 2002

ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia Bulldogs are still unbeaten. To remain that way, they'll have to get by without two key offensive players, maybe three. Top runner Musa Smith and Fred Gibson, the team's second-leading receiver, won't be able to play in Saturday's game at Kentucky because of thumb injuries. Coach Mark Richt also said Sunday that Jon Stinchcomb, the team's best offensive lineman, is questionable because of an ailing knee. All three were hurt in a 48-17 victory over Vanderbilt that extended the best start in 20 years for No. 5 Georgia (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference). The Bulldogs, who haven't won an SEC title since that 1982 season, can clinch a spot in the league's Dec. 7 championship game by winning their next two games. After Kentucky, they travel to Jacksonville to meet Florida. "It's going to be tough," Richt said. "But people around the country and around the league have got injuries. The guys that are backing up have got to step up." Smith broke his left thumb sometime during the Vanderbilt game, in which he carried 14 times for 102 yards and scored two touchdowns. Gibson, who caught a 35-yard touchdown pass, damaged ligaments in his left thumb attempting to carry out a block. Both players will undergo surgery Tuesday and are definitely out for this week's game. "After that, we don't know," Richt said. "There may be a way to get those guys wrapped and braced up and ready to go." Stinchcomb's left knee already was bothering him, and he left the game after someone rolled up the back of his leg. An MRI didn't show any major damage, but the doctors haven't ruled out that he'll need surgery. "I don't know how serious it is," Richt said. "The question is whether he's got cartilage problems in there. I don't know for sure. I don't think anything has shown where he'll need surgery. But we'll have to wait till tomorrow on him and see how it responds." Stinchcomb, who has started 40 games for the Bulldogs, is a candidate for the Outland and Lombardi trophies. Redshirt freshman Tony Milton will step in for Smith, who has rushed for 614 yards and five touchdowns this season, including four games with more than 100 yards. Milton has gained 118 yards on 28 carries. He'll be backed up by true freshman Tyson Browning and sophomore Ronnie Powell, who have only 14 carries between them. "I feel pretty good about (Milton)," Richt said. "Tyson got a little bit more work (four carries for 17 yards), but at the end of one run he had the ball knocked out. He's had trouble hanging on to the ball. We'll give Powell some work and let him run the ball. "Those guys have just got to step up and be ready to go." Gibson hasn't started the last two games - the coaches were unhappy with his blocking and route running - but the injury takes away Georgia's best deep threat. He has 25 receptions for 411 yards, a 16.4-yard average. If Stinchcomb can't play, the Bulldogs will likely go with senior Georgia Foster at left tackle.