Georgia gets its second crack at Alabama next week, and there are plenty of areas to improve from the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama rang up 536 yards against the vaunted, and historic, Georgia defense in Atlanta, and the Georgia players referred to the 41-24 loss as a wake-up call. Based on the performance against Michigan in the Orange Bowl, the Bulldogs got the message.

While another All-SEC national championship will spotlight the league’s dominance as all 7 editions since the first Playoff championship have included at least one SEC team — Alabama 6 times, LSU once and now Georgia twice — the Bulldogs are more aware with a head-to-head history to take care of this time.

Alabama has won 7 straight in the series. Georgia’s last win came in 2007 in Athens, a 26-23 affair as Mark Richt’s team beat Nick Saban’s.

To break that streak, here are 5 Bulldogs who need to improve from their Atlanta performance:

Nolan Smith

The outspoken linebacker tied his season-low with 2 tackles against Alabama, and while there were several holes in a defense that gave up that many yards, a championship-level defense can’t give up 5 straight possessions with 4 touchdowns and a field goal. Smith is an integral part of the front seven that didn’t get enough pressure. Like the Michigan game when Smith made 8 tackles, he needs to be more active, especially in the backfield. The outside linebacker will be active over the middle in the passing game, and watching the Alabama running backs.

James Cook

Cook perhaps is best suited to cause matchup problems for the Alabama defense, and he proved it in 2020 with a huge night in the passing game. However, in Atlanta, he delivered only 4 catches for 28 yards, and 11 carries for just 38 yards. He had 4 catches for 101 yards with a touchdown in 2020 against Alabama. Against Michigan in the Orange Bowl, he had 3 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. There’s no reason to think he can’t duplicate that in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Georgia tight ends are capable of creating space for Cook to exploit.

Derion Kendrick

He was lined up against Jameson Williams for much of the game, certainly on several highlight-reel plays by Williams. The star Alabama wide receiver made 7 catches for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns in Atlanta. Although Kendrick doesn’t shoulder complete blame for those numbers, he typically gets the first crack at Williams on the line of scrimmage.

This will be a key adjustment for the Georgia secondary, and one for that the coaching staff, including Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp in particular, as veteran secondary coaches. Georgia allowed 7 passes of at least 20 yards against Alabama, and both of Williams’ touchdowns were big plays, one for 67 yards and the other for 55.

Bryce Young and Williams hooked up for those long touchdowns as they attacked the Bulldogs’ secondary as much from a scheme standpoint as 1-on-1 in a way that wasn’t done all season. Alabama will try and stretch the defense to neutralize the dominant Georgia defensive front.

Jermain Burton

While Brock Bowers can be counted on to make waves in the passing game, Georgia needs another option outside of a running back. Burton made a big play in the Orange Bowl with a touchdown catch, but against Alabama, he had 3 catches for 36 yards. Burton has just 5 touchdowns all season, and only had as many as 4 catches in a game one time this season. But he’s the kind of player Georgia needs to separate itself from Alabama. It can’t just get by with Cook and Bowers.

While Burton has 6 fewer catches than Ladd McConkey, he has more yards, and is the second-leading receiver for Georgia this season with 469 receiving yards.

Stetson Bennett

The most obvious plays were the interceptions. There was the pick-6 by Jordan Battle returned for 42 yards. Then there was the DeMarcco Hellams pick at the Alabama 19-yard line. The interceptions highlighted concerns about Bennett’s decision-making, which is among the more troubling aspects of his game.

The pace of the game will likely dictate how much will be on Bennett’s shoulders. For example, if the defense can make a huge play, or Georgia otherwise builds a lead similar to the Orange Bowl, Bennett won’t be under as much pressure on third down to make a stressful throw. Todd Monken has taken the responsibility and last week dispelled any notion that Kirby Smart was somehow vetoing his call. But that also reveals that Monken needs to examine Bennett’s strengths, and put him in position to use that mobility that got him the starting nod, and helped him keep it.