“The coaches take care of our bodies throughout the week of practice.”

When you’re obsessive and you have the resources, you can do things like this.

A preventative measure Georgia has used has been to analyze how much on-field running players are doing in practice and in games. The program uses a GPS device, which is placed inside the players’ shoulder pads, to track this information. Georgia hasn’t had too many games go the distance, with starters being pulled early in the fourth quarter. With fewer game snaps, that has allowed for more physical practices late in the year.

Against South Carolina, however, Georgia’s first team was needed for all four quarters. With the starters taking on more snaps, Georgia’s coaching staff has to decide how much more to put on the players during the week of practice.

“I think you follow science. You look at the GPS numbers,” Smart said. “We’re comparing the numbers this year to last year. We’re seeing how many guys are hitting top speeds in the games. If they continue to hit their top speeds, then we continue to do what we do. But if they slow down, then we have to slow down. I think for the first time (since Notre Dame), we had a game that we had to play all four quarters, so we had guys play more snaps. We have to be smarter this week than in past weeks. But we’ve also got to get ready for a tough, physical football game.”

As the old saying goes, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.  If Kirby wants to claim there’s a little luck involved in Georgia’s injury status this season, he’s entitled.