The question was obligatory. Kirby Smart’s response was equally so.

Will the Bulldogs go into Saturday’s game at South Carolina (3:30 CBS) with any preconceived plan regarding how they play quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Justin Fields?

"It's just a situation where there's no plan. You know, we've got to go with how things go and how the flow of the game goes,” Smart said. “I thought (Fromm) did a good job Saturday in the game, handled things well, but I don't know what this game is going to dictate or what it will bring. So, we'll see."

The only thing that appears certain is that Fields will also play after completing 6 of 7 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for an additional 33 yards on three attempts.

Fromm, meanwhile, completed 12 of 16 passes for 157 yards and two scores. Last year in Athens, Fromm completed 16 of 22 passes for 196 yards and two scores against the Gamecocks.

Whatever happens, Smart says both players are willing to do whatever is asked to help the team win.

“They compete hard against each other, but they're pulling the team in the right direction,” Smart said. “That's one thing I'll say about both those kids. They just want to make our team better, and they've done that in how they've competed.”

Getting senior Terry Godwin (knee) back after missing last week's game against Austin Peay would certainly be a boost for the Bulldog offense. Smart has his fingers crossed that will be the case.

“He's run the last few days. He's had a couple times when we thought he was going to be back, and he just hadn't been able to push it over the edge. But he was able to work out Saturday prior to the game and run, then he was able to work out some yesterday,” Smart said. “We're expecting him to go out there today and do a lot more. We're expecting to get him back, but I won't know that probably until later in the week.”

With 111 career receptions for 1,415 yards and eight touchdowns, Godwin’s experience and what it means to the team cannot be understated.

“What he brings is some experience and some confidence. He has a really good feel with the quarterbacks. He has a lot of experience. He understands the game. He's a really good route runner, and he has great hands,” Smart said. “So, for us that value of confidence of having an extra guy frees up other guys to play on special teams when Terry (Godwin) is able to eat up some of the reps out there on offense.”

SEC rules only allow visiting teams to travel 70 players for road conference games. In any year that creates some challenging questions for Smart and his coaching staff. Who to take, who to leave?

“The biggest challenge will probably be to figure out the injuries with some guys. If one guy can't go here, then you have to take two extra guys there. Making sure that Kearis (Jackson) and Jayson (Stanley) are good to go, who were not really cleared to play the other day; we're trying to get those guys back,” Smart said. “That's probably the toughest thing: just being able to foresee the injuries and who gets the reps to decide. A lot of that will be determined by special teams for us.”

Georgia escaped Saturday’s game with Austin Peay relatively injury-free, although neither Jackson (hamstring) nor Stanley (quad) played in the game. Barring setbacks, both should be able to play against the Gamecocks.

Smart indicated that freshman James Cook just got caught up in the moment when he was nailed for targeting in the second half of the game against Austin Peay.

As a result, he won’t be able to play until the second half of Saturday’s game against the Gamecocks.

“His intent was not to be violent and hurt somebody,” Smart said. “He's a freshman who made a mistake and will learn a valuable lesson from it."

Smart said steps are taken throughout the year to avoid that type of mistake.

"We try to reinforce it every opportunity we get. When we have a learning opportunity from an opponent who has one, or we have one come up in practice, we show it to the team. We have an SEC official who comes in and speaks to the team in the preseason.He does a tremendous job of showing dos and don'ts, and not leading with the head,” Smart said.

“I don't think you can have too much education on that. But our best education comes in practice. We show it in a team meeting: Hey, this is not how we want to practice. It's not safe for you, but it's also not safe for the guy opposite you.”

“I like playing in noisy environments. I like the competition and the fans bring a lot of energy to games, just like our fans do. I think when everyone is screaming and yelling, you just have more of that drive to do something and do better. When you are on somebody’s own turf, the odds are stacked against you, and it is kind of a statement to be able to come out there and handle your business.” – Jonathan Ledbetter on playing at South Carolina.