D’Andre Swift’s absence from most of Saturday’s win over Middle Tennessee raised a few eyebrows.

In the game, Swift only carried the football four times, twice in each of the Bulldogs’ first two possessions. He remained on the sideline for the rest of the contest.

It was speculated that the sophomore may have injured himself at some point against the Blue Raiders, a notion head coach Kirby Smart dismissed in his post-game press conference. He seemingly shot it down again Monday when asked about the availability for each of his running backs for Saturday’s game against Mizzou (Noon, ESPN).

“Yeah. We expect to be 100 percent at the running back position, like we were Saturday,” Smart said. “As far as what our game plan will be, I don't think I should divulge that. Are we going to stick to our plan to be balanced? Absolutely. Are we going to go out and try to throw it every down? They don't throw it every down. They score a lot of points, but they do it in different methods. So we're going to prepare to be able to score points the best way possible, and stopping them from scoring points is the objective.”

Assuming Swift is indeed good to go, the game against the Tigers could be quite the elixir to get his season on track.

Last year, Swift ran for a career-high 94 yards in the Bulldogs’ 53-28 win.

Smart still didn’t have a prognosis regarding left tackle Andrew Thomas, who missed last week’s game with a sprained left ankle he suffered at South Carolina.

“Andrew—we're hoping he'll be able to get active a little more,” Smart said. “He's been running. He's been moving. I don't know that he'll be able to practice today, but he's probably going to be rehabbing and be out there with us. Hopefully we can get him back.”

If Thomas can’t go, the Bulldogs will once again turn to freshman Cade Mays.

● Wide receiver Terry Godwin (shin) is improving and is expected to play.

"Terry is okay,” Smart said. “Terry should practice today. He does have a contusion. But I think he'll be able to go today.”

First-year Mizzou offensive coordinator Derek Dooley is no stranger to Smart.

The pair has coached together on two separate occasions, first at LSU and later with the Miami Dolphins under Nick Saban.

“We're good friends,” Smart said. “I have a lot of respect for his dad (Vince Dooley), and Derek and I have always been good friends.”

Saturday, Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will match wits with the former Tennessee head coach, who boasts arguably the top quarterback in the SEC in senior Drew Lock.

“I think Derek has brought some good changes for them. The physicality, I think, is what Barry's (Odom) intent was in getting Derek devoted to running the ball, which they did at the Cowboys. Derek's been (physical) throughout his career,” Smart said. “The commitment to that, to running the ball, even though you have a potential high-round draft pick at quarterback—they still have a commitment to running the ball and being physical. I think that's important in this league. And they've made that. That's the biggest change I've seen, but they've kept a lot of the elements that are tough to defend in this offense. So he's done a good job of that.”

Georgia’s pass rush, or lack thereof, was a popular topic of conversation Monday.

Through three games, the Bulldogs have only recorded one sack with 10 quarterback pressures, numbers that have some concerns considering the Bulldogs are about to face perhaps the SEC’s top passing threat in Mizzou senior quarterback Drew Lock.

During his weekly press conference, Smart was asked if that’s because the Bulldogs have so far chosen to play more of a vanilla defense in order to disguise future plans.

He denied that has been the case.

“It’s probably not fair to say that. Probably fair to say we haven't pressured much. Obviously, based on the statistics, we haven't pressured a whole lot, but I don't know that we've held back on anything,” Smart said. “I mean, we're a run-stop-first team, and we haven't had a lot of opportunities. Like I said after the South Carolina game, I didn't think we rushed the passer really well and affected the quarterback. I don't think we had many opportunities last week.”

But held back? Nope.

“We are who we are. We're not keeping secrets. We've got tape out there of what our defense is, and they've got tape out there of what their offense is,” Smart said. “A lot of times you do special things in certain games, and you might have your change-ups. But for the most part, you are who you are, and I would say the same thing offensively.”

“That’s been a popular question today.”—Bulldog safety J.R. Reed on being quizzed for the umpteenth dozen time about Mizzou QB Drew Lock.

. . . Next week’s game against Tennessee will be played at 3:30 and televised by CBS.

. . . Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Todd McShay will call Saturday’s game on ESPN.

. . . Georgia enters play on Saturday leading the SEC in both scoring defense (8 points per game) and scoring defense (258.7 yards per game).

. . . Thanks to his 70-yard return on Saturday, Mecole Hardman leads the SEC in punt returns, averaging 31.7 yards on his three attempts.