Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins suspended for Saturday's game at No. 1 Georgia

Auburn will play top-ranked Georgia on Saturday without its best defender. All-SEC linebacker Xavier Atkins has been suspended and is ruled out of the game in Athens, UGA Wire reported. The school has not said why he was suspended.

Auburn coach Alex Golesh gave no details and said the program would look at Atkins' status again after this week. "We'll keep it in house beyond that," Golesh said, according to UGA Wire. He also said the matter would be revisited when the team meets next Monday. That leaves open whether Atkins misses more than one game.

Atkins came into the season as a preseason All-American. Last year he led Auburn with 84 tackles and nine sacks, and his 17 tackles for loss were the most in the SEC. He has picked up where he left off. Through five games he has 37 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception.

With Atkins out, defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will lean on his depth at linebacker. UGA Wire expects sophomore Bryce Deas and junior De'Marcus Riddick to play a lot more next to starter Elijah Melendez, who leads the Tigers in total tackles. Deas and Riddick have mostly played in rotation so far. Now they will be asked to help slow one of the best teams in the country, on the road.

The suspension makes a hard trip harder. Auburn is 3-2 and plays at Georgia at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Bulldogs are 6-0 and ranked No. 1. Atkins is the player most likely to make plays behind the line of scrimmage, and pressure is one of the few ways an underdog can unsettle an offense like Georgia's. Without him, Auburn has less margin for error against the run and less of a pass rush coming from the second level.

The Tigers were already heavy underdogs. Georgia is favored at -1150 on Novig, one of the venues listing the game, and Pinnacle has the best sportsbook price on the Bulldogs at -1332. The spread is Georgia -20.5 and the total is 49.5. Full prices for the game are on the Auburn at Georgia page.

For Georgia, Saturday is a chance to stay unbeaten heading into the second half of the season. Kirby Smart's staff will likely look for ways to test Auburn's inexperienced linebackers early, both with the ground game and by attacking the middle of the field in coverage. For Auburn, the question is whether the reshuffled group can hold up long enough to keep the game close in a tough road setting.