Ole Miss defense awaits word on Kam Franklin and Keaton Thomas before Georgia

Ole Miss could go into Saturday night's top-10 game against No. 2 Georgia without two of its front-seven starters. Defensive end Kam Franklin and linebacker Keaton Thomas are both game-time decisions, ClutchPoints reported, citing Pete Nakos of On3.

The latest update leans Ole Miss' way on one of the two. On3's Friday injury report says Thomas "should be back for Georgia," while Franklin is still a game-time call. Both players had been listed as questionable since the SEC's first availability report on Wednesday, according to The Clarion Ledger. The conference releases a final report 90 minutes before kickoff.

Thomas matters most here. He leads the Rebels with 52 tackles and had eight in last week's win over Auburn. Franklin has 25 tackles and two sacks, third-most on the team. Georgia averages about 200 rushing yards per game and has three running backs averaging better than six yards a carry: Dwight Phillips Jr., Nate Frazier and Bo Walker. If Ole Miss is thin at linebacker, that is where Georgia will test it.

The Rebels are already down on offense. Leading rusher Kewan Lacy has been ruled out again and hasn't played since the loss at Texas. He is one of nine Ole Miss players listed as out. Georgia has its own list to manage. DawgNation reported that running back Chauncey Bowens was upgraded to probable, while defensive back Tyriq Green, linebacker AJ Kruah and defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye have been ruled out.

What it means for Saturday in Oxford

Georgia (7-1) comes in off a 27-8 win over No. 17 Florida, which followed its only loss, 27-24 at home to Auburn. The Bulldogs also won 20-17 at Alabama in early October. Ole Miss (6-2) beat that same Auburn team 45-15 last week, holding the Tigers to 63 rushing yards. A week earlier, Texas ran for 207 yards against the Rebels in a 34-27 Ole Miss loss. Thomas' status could decide which of those two run defenses shows up.

The two teams have three common opponents, and the results point in different directions. Ole Miss beat Auburn badly while Georgia lost to the Tigers. Georgia beat Florida by 19, while Ole Miss lost 52-28 in Gainesville. Both handled Vanderbilt easily.

Georgia is favored on the board across all 12 venues. Novig has the Bulldogs at -163 on the moneyline and -3.5 on the spread at -106. Ole Miss is +156 on Novig. The best Ole Miss moneyline anywhere is +158 at Polymarket, so prices on the underdog are closely grouped. The total sits at 56.5 on Novig, with the over at -102 and the under at -100. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.0% to 6.3% on the moneyline and up to 7.0% on the spread and total, so the gap between venues comes mostly from margin rather than any real disagreement about the game.

A field goal and a hook is a thin margin for a game like this. If Thomas plays, the Rebels have their full linebacker group available against the best rushing attack they have faced since Texas.