THIS WEEK'S GAME: LSU at Georgia, Oct. 2 -- These two teams played twice last year, with LSU winning both games on the way to the national championship. The No. 3 Bulldogs had an open date this week to work on their red zone offense and get healthy, so the time has come to see what Georgia is really made of.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
RBs Danny Ware and Thomas Brown -- The Bulldogs are depending on two true freshmen backs to carry the running load, but this young duo will be put to a whole new test against the LSU defense.

QB David Greene -- The offense has yet to click in three games this season, and while that isn't the fault of just one player there's no doubt Greene needs to do a better job of getting the offense moving in the right direction.

MLB Odell Thurman -- Thurman will return from a three-game suspension against LSU. Thurman made 125 tackles last season for the Bulldogs and missed the first three games after violating team rules during the summer. He's practiced with the second- and third-team the past month, but the open date should help him prepare for his first game action of the season. "I think he's got his skills in pretty good shape," Richt said, "and it will be nice for him to have a couple of weeks on the first game plan he'll be able to get in."

ROSTER REPORT
Middle linebacker Odell Thurman will likely return to the starting lineup this week after missing the first three games due to a suspension for unspecified rules violations. The time off has given him extra time to prepare for LSU and given increased playing time to linebackers Jarvis Jackson, Danny Verdun Wheeler and Derrick White at both the middle and weakside spots. White, who started the season opener at middle linebacker before missing the past two games with a sprained ankle, will probably move to strongside linebacker and compete with Arnold Harrison. Junior Jamario Smith, who has hurt by the flu over the past week, will likely backup Thurman at middle linebacker.

"It's one of those situations where you are really concerned going into it and now as we look at it being 3-0, we gained a lot of experience with a couple of young guys," defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said. "That may pay off for us in the long run."

One immediate concern is that Thurman won't be sharp when he returns after sitting out for so long, but neither VanGorder nor Thomas seems concerned. "I feel like I'm a good enough player," Thurman said, "that I'm going to come back and play as well as I did last year." ...

Starting TB Danny Ware missed the Marshall game with a bruised left lung and sat out contact drills last week, but is expected to start back to full contact work on Monday to prepare for Saturday's game against LSU. ... Backup QB D.J. Shockley hasn't seen much playing time this season, but coach Mark Richt has hinted that Shockley will play a more significant role against LSU. ... Junior tailback Tony Milton, who started three of the first five games last season but has yet to carry the ball this season because of the continued effects of offseason leg surgery and then playing some fullback while starter Jeremy Thomas was suspended for two games, is back at tailback and working himself in the playing rotation with his practice performance. ...

All-American DE David Pollack is playing with a cast on his broken left thumb. So is DT Ray Gant, who suffered torn ligaments in his right thumb against South Carolina. ... Andy Bailey is off to a strong start in his first season as Georgia's kicker and leads the SEC in scoring with 27 points, but he was slowed last week by a strained groin.

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