Charleston Southern @ Georgia preview

Georgia’s euphoria from thrashing Auburn 34-7 last week was dampened by the season-ending knee injury to tailback Todd Gurley, but freshman Nick Chubb looks poised to become the next great Bulldogs’ back. The 10th-ranked Bulldogs host Charleston Southern on Saturday in what figures to be a tune-up for next weekend’s home contest with arch-rival Georgia Tech. Georgia would clinch the SEC East title and berth in the Dec. 6 championship game with a Missouri loss Saturday night at Tennessee.

Regardless of whether the Bulldogs make it to the conference title contest, the future looks bright thanks to the 5-foot-10, 228-pound Chubb, who has rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns in his past five games. With Gurley – who returned from a four-game suspension Saturday only to see his season end with a torn ACL in the fourth quarter – on the sidelines, Chubb now is the front man for an offense ranked seventh nationally in scoring (42.1 points per game). Charleston Southern has won three in a row after a three-game losing streak.

TV: Noon ET, SEC Network. LINE: none

ABOUT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (8-3): The Buccaneers face their second SEC opponent of the season, nearly springing an upset of Vanderbilt on Oct. 11 before falling 21-20. Running back Christian Reyes earned Big South offensive player of the week after rushing for a career-best 188 yards in Charleston Southern’s 38-36 victory last week at Liberty, scoring twice to set a school record with 16 career rushing TDs. The Buccaneers are second in the Big South in scoring defense (18.8).

ABOUT GEORGIA (8-2): Quarterback Hutson Mason has improved steadily through his first season as a starter, completing 23-of-35 passes with five touchdowns in his past two games. A big key to the Bulldogs’ success has been continuity on the offensive line, where the same five players have started every game in 2014. The Georgia defense has allowed only six points – two field goals – off turnovers this season while forcing 22 turnovers.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Gurley, who is expected to forego his senior season for the NFL, is second to Herschel Walker in school history in rushing yards (3,285).

2. Georgia’s Isaiah McKenzie has returned two punts and a kickoff for a touchdown, and averages 14.1 yards per punt return.

3. The Bulldogs have scored 34 or more points 10 times in 11 games.

PREDICTION: Georgia 47, Charleston Southern 17