ATHENS — Georgia tailback Sony Michel walked off the field on Saturday night without any visible limp or any extra tape on either ankle. The Georgia senior tailback stopped to talk to a fan, smiling widely and saying a few words before heading into the locker room.

It didn’t look like his status for the game next Saturday at Mississippi State was in question. And afterward, coach Kirby Smart indicated that if the team had really needed Michel in what turned out to be a 42-14 win over Samford, they would have played him.

“Sony was dinged up all week, and we didn’t know if he was going to be able to go or not. And we wanted to see if we needed him to go,” Smart said. “Obviously felt like that’s one of our deepest positions, so if we could hold him, we wanted to hold him. And those other guys came in and did a good job.”

Georgia didn’t need him on Saturday night. Nick Chubb rushed for a season-high 131 yards and 2 touchdowns, with D’Andre Swift (54 yards) and Brian Herrien (45 yards) also looking good on 9 carries each.

“We’re very fortunate to have the guys we have at that position to be able to do that,” Smart said.

Michel hurt his ankle late in the win at Notre Dame. He practiced this week but was limited.

Michel was Georgia’s leading rusher over the first two games, with 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chubb entered with 1 fewer yard and also had 2 touchdowns.