The No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs have been dealt a serious blow.
Star tight end Brock Bowers will have surgery on his left ankle on Monday after suffering a high ankle sprain during last week's game against Vanderbilt, UGA announced.
According to reports, Bowers will undergo TightRope surgery on his left ankle. Typical TightRope procedures take 4-6 weeks, but Georgia offered no timetable for Bowers' return.
How much does losing Bowers hurt Georgia's chances of even making the College Football Playoff?
At one sportsbook, Georgia is no longer the favorite to win it all. Michigan is favored to win the title at DraftKings at +270 odds. Georgia is now +290.
The Bulldogs have gone from +250 to win the National Championship prior to the Vanderbilt game to +275 currently at BetMGM. They are barely ahead of Michigan (+300) as the favorite to win it all at BetMGM.
Georgia and Michigan are both +270 to win the National Championship at FanDuel.
Bowers led the Bulldogs with 41 catches and 567 yards before the injury. He also scored four touchdowns.
He was a darkhorse Heisman candidate and had +3000 odds before being taken off the board following the injury.
In 2022, the Napa (Calif.) High School grad won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in football and was named a First-Team All-American.
Collin Wilson's Analysis
An injury to Brock Bowers might instigate a shift in offensive play-calling for Georgia. At 51 targets on the year, Bowers was set to break his single-season record of 82.
The tight end had posted his best numbers in both yards after catch and missed tackles forced.
The best analogy for Bowers’ game might be a comparison to a Swiss Army knife, as he has lined up in the traditional tight end position for 85 snaps on passing plays while adding 99 in the slot and another 24 out wide.
The biggest question is whether or not Georgia will take a hit in the market with the absence of its biggest playmaker on the offensive side of the ball.
A target is considered explosive when he has two yards per route run, and Bowers blew away that threshold at 3.03 yards per route run on the season. No other target is as explosive, but the Georgia offense may be able to absorb the injury as a collective unit.
Ladd McConkey has returned from injury, already posting more than 2.00 yards per route run from the wideout and slot positions. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Rara Thomas have also generated plenty of explosives on the outside.
The collective pieces around Bowers will pick up the slack, but the biggest change will be Georgia’s usage of 12 personnel. The Bulldogs run a two-tight end set on 60% of snaps with tight end Oscar Delp receiving 16 targets this season.
However, Georgia has been more explosive out of 11 personnel this season, owning a big-play rate of 24.7% in 11 compared to a mark of 19% in 12.
Look for Georgia to become a more explosive team, with McConkey taking the crossing routes while Thomas and Rosemary-Jacksaint receive additional looks downfield.
Georgia has a bye week before facing Florida in Jacksonville, where any number under 14 will put the value on the Bulldogs.
