Well, that was weird.

After getting an unexpectedly strong wakeup call last week when it put together a flat performance at home against Kent State, Georgia appeared to have slept through the alarm yet again on Saturday.

Traveling on the road for a night contest against Missouri, the Bulldogs were 31-point favorites but barely escaped Columbia with their undefeated record intact. The passing game was pedestrian, the running game couldn’t get in a rhythm, they turned the ball over 2 more times in the first half, and, coming off his worst game as a Bulldog last week, wide receiver Ladd McConkey had another head-scratcher of a dropped pass.

The Bulldogs may still be No. 1 when the weekly rankings are released later Sunday, but on Saturday they looked anything but.

Look, anything can happen, and perhaps we went overboard on just how good this team looked in its first 3 games. The gap between No. 1 and Nos. 2, 3 and 4 looked wider than the holes the Missouri offensive line created against a struggling Georgia defensive front early on Saturday. Now, more questions remain unanswered for this team as it enters the bulk of its conference slate against Auburn next week.

  • Is this team still the best in the country, or are the Bulldogs a little weaker than we thought 2 weeks ago?
  • Are these problems shortcomings that existed but were masked by the fast start against Oregon, Samford and South Carolina?
  • What can Georgia do to right the ship with games against Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Kentucky just around the corner?

The answer to the first question is complicated: I think so, and absolutely.

Yes, I think Georgia is still the best team in the country. We can’t ignore how it has looked in its past 2 games, but we can’t ignore how it looked in its first 3 either. At its best, it has been dominant this season, and that 49-3 opener against a top-15 team still looms large in the back of my mind.

Weaker than we thought, though? Absolutely.

What’s clearer now than a few weeks ago is that as good as Georgia’s offensive weapons can be, if you take a couple out of the picture, the entire dynamic can change.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett looked like a bona fide Heisman Trophy contender early this season, but without a couple of his weapons playing at a high level – or at all – his limitations stand out a little more. His size is a detriment, and he is at times inaccurate when defenders get a hand in his face. Georgia’s propensity for turning short passes into larger gains as a complement to its run game is great when it works. When it doesn’t, the offense looks incredibly one-dimensional.

Take receiver AD Mitchell, who is still recovering from injury, out of the picture, and more is needed for the other Bulldogs receivers. Defenses can concentrate on tight end Brock Bowers, and Georgia’s big-play ability is curtailed.

McConkey is one who can step up, but he has been surprisingly lost in Georgia’s past 2 games, suffering from fumbles, drops, bad routes and more.

So, yes, these problems existed. But they’ve only been exposed in the face of injuries like Mitchell’s and adjustments in the way defenses have played offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s attack.

So, what can Georgia do to right the ship?

It doesn’t have a heck of a lot of time to get things going again with conference games against Auburn next week and Florida on Oct. 29. Still, there’s no reason to panic. The talent is too great and the team too well-coached to think things are going to go off the rails.

They need to get healthy.

Mitchell’s return looks to be more important than ever for the offense. You knew his absence would hurt, but I think even Georgia coaches would have been surprised just how much. His return gives Georgia a reliable pass catcher on downfield throws, something that it has really lacked in the past couple of games.

In the meantime, you need to be able to find someone else reliable in his place. Dominick Blaylock is a name that comes to mind. Darnell Washington another. Washington was big on Saturday, catching 3 passes for 64 yards and positively manhandling defenders in the process. If he can become a bigger part of the passing game, that opens things up for Bennett again.

Once the downfield threat reemerges, those short passes to Kenny McIntosh should, as well.

What really needs to change, though, is this team’s ability to consistently run the football. In the fourth quarter against Missouri, Georgia had plenty of success. And the numbers look fine in the box score – McIntosh with 11 carries for 65 yards, Milton with seven for 63, Daijun Edwards with 11 for 49.

These are all fine.

But they need to be able to do this early and consistently to get into a rhythm. Bennett is a good quarterback. But he’s not a Bryce Young, CJ Stroud or even Hendon Hooker who you can expect to carry the offense. Georgia needs the running game to come first, and Bennett’s game will come back to him as a result.

Oh, and for Uga’s sake, quit turning the ball over.

It’s all still there for Georgia if it can make a few adjustments to achieve these ends. If not, it won’t win its own division much less another national championship.