For the second consecutive week, the Georgia football team is dealing with more than just another defeat — it is dealing with another injury to a starting linebacker.

Last week, it was inside linebacker Alec Ogletree.

Redshirt junior linebacker Christian Robinson (45) will miss 'at least a couple of games' after injuring his foot in Saturday's loss to South Carolina. Photo from FILE

This week, fellow inside linebacker Christian Robinson will be joining Ogletree on the sidelines after sustaining a foot injury during the Bulldogs’ 45-42 loss to South Carolina on Saturday.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt said Robinson “is out for at least a couple of games,” but could not give an exact date on the linebacker’s return.

“He won’t be playing this week, that’s for sure,” he said.

The candidates to replace Robinson are the same players who were battling for Ogletree’s vacated spot last week — Michael Gilliard and Amarlo Herrera, among others.

Richt said a pair of other players who had primarily been working at outside linebacker — freshman Ramik Wilson and sophomore Chase Vasser — could also be in the running for Robinson’s job.

“We just gotta rally the troops and figure out who’s going to be the one,” he said.

One solution Richt ruled out was switching either running back Richard Samuel or outside linebacker Jarvis Jones to the position.

“He needs to stay where he’s at,” Richt said of Jones. “He can make more of an impact for us right there. When you’ve got a lot of reps …it’s hard to just all of a sudden take a guy from one spot and plug him in [somewhere else]. You may weaken two spots if you take Jarvis away from what he’s doing at outside linebacker and then put him inside.”

Gates no longer unquestioned starter

Kenarious Gates started at left guard in Georgia’s season opener against Boise State on Sep. 3., but had to leave the game with a leg injury.

After the ”excellent job” freshman Dallas Lee did in Gates’ place on Saturday as well as against the Broncos in the opener, the sophomore’s starting spot is no longer secure.

“Gates is gonna have to compete to get back in the lineup,” Richt said.

Right guard Chris Burnette also redeemed himself in Richt’s eyes against the Gamecocks.

“Quite frankly, he didn’t play all that well in the first game,” he said. “… [Saturday] he played very physical and did a very nice job.”

The looming question for the coaching staff is which players — among Lee, Burnette, Gates, Ben Jones, Justin Anderson and Cordy Glenn — the starting offensive line will consist of.

“We’ll have to figure out how we’re going to roll that thing around, who’s going to start out of the six,” Richt said.

Richt sees improvement from WR corps

After a dismal opening game for the Bulldog wide receivers, which saw them haul in only 7 receptions against the Boise State defense, Richt viewed some positives he took from the unit’s play on Saturday.

“I saw a lot of guts, a lot of plays that were being made,” he said. “We dropped a ball here or there, but for the most part, I think the receiving corps is growing up and starting to make plays.”

Richt specifically noted Marlon Brown’s performance, toughing it out even at less-than-100-percent health.

“Marlon, unfortunately, is still hobbled a little bit, and I don’t know if he should have been in there as much as he was,” he said. “It was good of him to try to gut it out.”

Richt was also pleased that the younger wideouts — notably freshman Malcolm Mitchell and redshirt freshman Michael Bennett — are maturing so quickly, giving the team “at least six guys” the coaching staff is comfortable having on the field.

“I’m encouraged, definitely,” he said. “I really believe we’re going to continue to get better as we go.”

Charles ‘dominant’ against Gamecocks despite dearth of receptions

Tight end Orson Charles was Georgia’s top receiver against Boise State, pulling in 6 receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown.

Saturday, he was at the other end of the spectrum, as he was held without a catch.

That doesn’t mean he still didn’t impress Richt, though.

“I think Orson Charles had his very best day as a blocker,” he said. “He was run-blocking, pass-protecting and I don’t think I’ve seen him play with that type of intensity, that type of physicality [before]. He was pretty dominant as a blocker.”