Without Nick Chubb, It's Up to QB Greyson Lambert to Keep Georgia's Season Alive

What seemed like an inevitability on Saturday afternoon after Georgia's star running back Nick Chubb went to the locker room on the cart with his knee iced became a reality on Sunday.

Georgia's star is gone for the season.

The 5'10", 220-pound sophomore tore his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and two other ligaments in his left knee on the first play from scrimmage in Georgia's 38-31 loss to Tennessee. The injury will likely cost him the rest of the season, according to Logan Booker of Cox Media Group.

Georgia confirmed that Chubb didn't injure his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but will undergo surgery in the coming weeks.

It's a terrible loss for Georgia because without Chubb, the entire identity of the offense takes a backseat and shifts more toward quarterback Greyson Lambert.

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Sure, Sony Michel is a talented running back and played well with 22 rushes and 145 yards in relief of Chubb on Rocky Top. But he's an entirely different kind of back.

Chubb is a bruiser, a work horse. He's a guy who head coach Mark Richt could trust to give the ball 30 times per game and set the tone.

Michel—a 5'11", 212-pound sophomore from Plantation, Florida—is more of the home-run hitter who makes plays outside rather than between the tackles, an area where Chubb typically does his best work.

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Richt commented on the backfield situation after the Tennessee game, per Georgia's official website:

"

It changes to a certain degree, but Sony ran it in there between the tackles. We called the same plays that we would have called for the most part. Maybe we might have had it with a little more frequency if Nick was there. Nick probably would have handled more of the inside runs if he was there, but you do have to give credit to Sony, and the line blocked well.

"

Michel can certainly be a solid running back for the Bulldogs, but Georgia's offense will have to shift a bit with more pressure falling on the shoulders of Lambert than initially anticipated. 

Lambert has completed 62.1 percent of his passes (77-for-124) for 1,098 yards, nine touchdowns and one pick on the season but is 10th in the SEC in yards per game (183) and attempts per game (20.7). Not bad, but it's certainly not the kind of stat line that suggests that Lambert can successfully bring home a win if opposing teams focus on the run. 

If Georgia is going to get back in the mix for the SEC East and contend with front-runner Florida and the rest of the pack, Lambert is going to have to be more of a difference-maker than a game manager.

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That means Lambert is going to have to stretch the field more. He showed that at times against Tennessee, throwing a beautiful 28-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell in the second quarter and in the fourth quarter on a perfect would-be touchdown pass that was dropped by Reggie Davis.

Lambert has that type of ability in him, but he hasn't displayed it consistently this year.

That has to change because Missouri and Florida—Georgia's next two opponents—are stout up front and can certainly slow down the running game no matter who's toting the rock.

Nothing against Michel. He's a talented back who will certainly have a big role moving forward as both the feature back and as a receiver out of the backfield.

Plan A for Georgia was to be a run-first team. Now it's on to Plan B, which means a much heavier dose of Lambert than anybody expected.

Quotes were obtained first-hand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com. 

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.