Ole Miss football needed to navigate without star running back Kewan Lacy against Auburn. The same plan rises ahead of the heavyweight showdown against Georgia.

So Lacy will sit one more week, as his name surfaced on the injury report Wednesday. He's among nine Rebels who'll miss the home contest inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Lacy has carried the football 78 times for 388 yards and scored five touchdowns. He hasn't played since the Oct. 24 contest against Texas, which ended in a disappointing 34-27 defeat in Austin.

Ole Miss faces big implications in this conference battle. Saturday presents more than a rematch of the climactic College Football Playoff second round contest won by the Rebels. Both teams carry big SEC title game and postseason implications.

Ole Miss already owns two costly losses to Florida and Texas. A third defeat puts them at risk of missing out on landing in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Plus can prevent Ole Miss and coach Pete Golding from a return to the 12-team playoffs. So Golding will once again lean into dual-threat star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to help carry this team past a loaded Bulldogs team.

Article Continues Below

But No. 2 Georgia faces, arguably, its last daunting road challenge here in Oxford. Ole Miss remains highly ranked and landed at 10th overall in Tuesday's CFP poll.

A Bulldogs loss can still keep Georgia in the race to the SEC title game and postseason. But it'll mean winning out the rest of the way and other external factors to come into play for both becoming a reality.