The Last Man Back Just Got Put on the List
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 15, 2026
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Thursday, October 15, 2026
Georgia's All-American safety KJ Bolden showed up on Wednesday night's injury report as questionable, and nobody said why, two days before a running quarterback comes to Athens.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
The SEC availability report came out Wednesday night, and most of it read like the church bulletin: the same names, the same prayers. Then came the surprise. KJ Bolden, Georgia's All-American safety, was listed as questionable for Auburn, and DawgNation called him a surprise addition. The report did not name an injury. That is the football version of a doctor looking at your X-ray, saying "hmm," and leaving the room. Nobody in Athens slept much better for it.
This is the wrong week for that particular "hmm." Auburn's quarterback, Byrum Brown, is a runner first who happens to throw. He carried 19 times for 107 yards against Tennessee. On the Tiger Talk radio show Wednesday night, Alex Golesh talked about how often Brown has a keep option in the run game, and he said Auburn has run somewhere around 48 different schemes this year. When a quarterback keeps it and gets past the first wave, the safety is all that's left between him and the end zone.
A quarterback who gives the ball away is a gift best caught by somebody standing deep in the defense, and that is exactly the spot where Georgia just put a question mark.
The rest of the report was about what Georgia folks expected. Marcus Harrison was upgraded from out to probable, which is the nicest word a trainer knows. Tyriq Green, Amaris Williams, Thomas Blackshear and Isiah Canion are out. The tailback room is still a guessing game. The Red & Black reported that it's unclear whether Nate Frazier can play Saturday, and it gave no timeline. Kirby Smart has already said Green can't move over to fill the gap. You go with the backs you have.
But Brown carries the ball loosely, the way a man carries a casserole to a covered-dish supper. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble against Tennessee, and Auburn offensive coordinator Joel Gordon put the interceptions at the top of his list of worries during the bye week. A quarterback who gives the ball away is a gift best caught by somebody standing deep in the defense. That is exactly the spot where Georgia just put a question mark.
The bookmakers don't seem bothered yet. DraftKings has Georgia at -20.5, a point higher than the -19.5 it opened at, and ESPN's predictor gives the Dawgs 90.3%. The desk's own Georgia Moneyball model is more modest, at Georgia 30, Auburn 20. It has Georgia winning 73% of the time but covering only 25%, and it should be read as a floor, not a pick. Kickoff is 3:30 Saturday under a sunny sky. In this league, questionable usually means Saturday morning, and on Saturday morning Bolden will either be at practice or he won't.
The Notebook
- RED RIVER WRECKAGE: Oklahoma 27, Texas 24. Tate Sandell kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired, 19 seconds after the Sooners intercepted Arch Manning, and Texas fell to No. 7.
- BLUEGRASS GAMBLE: Kentucky 35, LSU 34 in overtime. Will Stein went for two and Kenny Minchey ran it in on a draw, which is about as brave as a first-year coach gets.
- THE COUNTDOWN: Auburn at Georgia, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN at Sanford Stadium. The slate calls Georgia -20.5 a lock.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
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